Israeli attacks on Gaza damaged more than 90 percent of educational institutions, over half of cultural and religious sites

Israeli attacks on Gaza’s education and cultural infrastructure amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination, a United Nations investigation body has said.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, published its findings in a new report on Tuesday.

It found that Israeli air strikes, shelling, burning and controlled demolitions had damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of schools and university buildings across the Gaza Strip.

That destruction has made it impossible for 658,000 children in Gaza to have an education over the past two years.

“We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the commission.

“Israel’s targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination.”

The report said Israeli forces had committed war crimes, “including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities that caused civilian casualties”.

It also documented cases in which Israeli forces used educational buildings as military bases.

One example cited was the conversion of al-Azhar University’s al-Mughraqa campus into a synagogue for Israeli troops.