9th October 2023 — Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, one of the largest global foundations in development and education, has released the following statement in relation to the bombardment and siege of Gaza.
Education Above All Foundation unequivocally condemns the targeting of civilians, schools and civilian objects in Gaza. In Gaza, 73,539 civilians displaced by bombardment are currently seeking shelter, many of them in schools. On 08 October 2023, one UNRWA school sheltering civilians was directly hit by Israeli rocket fire, and three schools were damaged. These attacks must cease immediately.
During 2020-21, 420 attacks on, or interferences to, education occurred in Palestine, when bombardments affected over 290 kindergartens, schools, and higher education facilities in Gaza.
Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and if deliberate they are war crimes, Education Above All Foundation calls for justice for victims and an immediate end to the attack on education.