NEARLY 13,000 students have been killed and 21,000 injured by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank since the start of the war, according to new reports.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education reports that more than 12,799 students have been killed and at least 20,942 others wounded by Israel in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the war.
The majority of casualties were in Gaza, according to the ministry.
At least 598 teachers and school administrators were also killed, and 3801 others wounded.
An estimated 538 students and 158 teachers and administrators were arrested in the West Bank, with Gaza figures unclear.
The ministry said 425 government schools, universities and their buildings, along with 65 affiliated with the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, were bombed by the Israeli military and were destroyed partially or completely.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the 14-month war has now topped 45,000 people.
The war has been by far the deadliest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, with the death toll now amounting to roughly 2% of Gaza’s entire pre-war population of about 2.3 million.
The International Federation of Journalists said last week that 104 journalists and media workers have been killed so far in 2024.
The group said that since the start of Israel's assault on Gaza, at least 138 had been killed, including 55 Palestinian media professionals in the calendar year.
It comes as Israel’s defence minister said once Hamas is defeated, his country will have “security control over Gaza with full freedom of action”, similar to policy in the occupied West Bank.
Israel is reportedly using the same policy in southern Lebanon as well, according to Al Jazeera.
