On MSNBC Saturday night during a discussion of the Gaza protests on US campuses, reference was made to the fate of universities in Gaza since October 7. In particular, the destruction of Israa University was shown, and for the first time I saw a picture of its beautiful main building that was destroyed on January 17 by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
A video of the MSNBC discussion is here with excellent text and pictures.
You can also see and read details of the destruction here. As our title says, Israa University was the last standing university in Gaza, and its demolition completed the near-destruction of all higher education buildings in Gaza.
Israa University in Gaza was built in 2014, and at the time of its destruction its main building had been occupied and converted to military barracks by the IDF for 70 days. It was also used as a detention center and a base for snipers to shoot civilians.
According to a news report
The targeted structures housed graduate and undergraduate colleges, as well as a national museum, which contained over three thousand rare archaeological artifacts which the IDF looted before destroying the museum.
As reported in wikipedia, in March the IDF stated
the facilities and its surroundings had been used by Hamas fighters as staging grounds for attacks, rendering the university a legitimate military target. On 11 March 2024, Israeli authorities announced that the commander of the Israeli 99th Infantry Division, Brigadier general Barak Hiram, had been formally censured by the Israeli military for demolishing the university building without proper authorisation.The IDF said there had been “flaws in the operational process, including in the decision to destroy the entire building.”
Israa University-Gaza (IUSG) was an independent, non-for profit and private Palestinian University, one of 27 higher education facilities in Gaza and the West Bank. Israa University was made up of five faculties and the college of Intermediate Studies.
The university had about 350 faculty members in 2020 and more than 1000 academic appointments in affiliated schools, clinics, and hospitals. Also, in 2020 the Israa University Hospital project was launched.
In 2020 the university had 4100 students — 3000 undergraduates, 100 post-graduates, and 1000 diploma and professional students. in 2024, there were more female than male students enrolled at the university. There are more than 1200 living alumni, over 1100 in the Palestinian Territories, and about 100 in other countries.
The Israa Library had access to a rich collection provided by an electronic research database.The Israa Museum was open to the public and welcomed more than 10,000 local, national, and international visitors each year.
The mission of Israa University was “to aspire to knowledge, creativity and scientific research.”
UPDATE: On April 12 we posted Scholasticide in Gaza, which describes a letter from more than 2200 university academics in North America who signed an open letter strongly opposing Israel’s destruction of education in Gaza, which the letter calls scholasticide. In the letter the academics said they had “watched with horror as Israel systematically and deliberately attacked universities and schools in Gaza.” (As of May 5, 2600 North American academics had signed the letter.)
The letter also said “protecting and fostering Palestinian education is essential to the continuation of the Palestinian people as a distinct national and cultural group,” and “targeting Palestinian education has long been a central tactic of the occupation.”
UPDATE 2:
On Jan. 17, the Israeli military detonated 315 mines to destroy al-Israa University, located south of Gaza City.
UPDATE 3: Here is a free link to an important New York Times article May 6:
With Schools in Ruins, Education in Gaza Will Be Hobbled for Years