The Israeli occupation forces continue to commit horrific crimes in the Gaza Strip as part of an ongoing and escalating assault that, day after day, reveals a deliberate policy aimed at destroying the foundations of life in the enclave. Civilian, educational, and cultural structures essential to the Palestinian people’s existence have been systematically targeted.
In one of the most devastating chapters of this campaign, the Occupation Army completely destroyed Al-Azhar University in Gaza City, one of the largest and oldest Palestinian academic institutions, after a heavy bombardment that struck its main buildings and surrounding facilities.
The direct targeting of academic institutions constitutes a grave crime that strikes at the very heart of the right to education and cultural life. It represents a clear violation of the principles of international humanitarian law, which require special protection for civilian and academic institutions during armed hostilities.
The university’s destruction coincided with continuous attacks across different parts of the Gaza Strip that have caused numerous deaths and injuries, and widespread damage to homes and property. In northern Gaza, for instance, artillery and tank shells were fired towards gatherings of civilians awaiting humanitarian aid east of Wadi Gaza, while other neighbourhoods in Deir al-Balah, Al-Zahra, and Al-Maghazi were subjected to successive airstrikes that destroyed houses and surrounding structures.
This targeting of academic life reflects a long-standing policy by the occupation authorities against the besieged population of Gaza, who have lived under blockade for more than 18 years. The bombardment makes no distinction between civilian and combatant, nor between an educational, medical, or residential facility. Such actions expose an intentional effort to deprive Palestinian society of its civil and educational foundations and to dismantle the essential elements of life. This deliberate destruction rises to the level of the crime of genocide as defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The destruction of Al-Azhar University represents not only a material or educational loss but also an assault on the cultural and symbolic identity of Palestinian society, on its right to knowledge, development, and existence. Universities are considered protected civilian objects under international law, and their repeated targeting by the occupation demonstrates flagrant contempt for the laws of war and the principles of the United Nations Charter.
The ongoing assault on Gaza can no longer be described as merely “military,” as claimed by the occupation. It has become a comprehensive campaign aimed at exterminating the population through the killing of civilians, the destruction of institutions, the displacement of residents, and the targeting of education—actions that collectively fulfil the constituent elements of the crime of genocide.
With the continued silence of the international community, the scope of this crime widens and impunity deepens. Entire cities are being erased before the eyes of the world. The latest to vanish is Al-Azhar University, which once stood as a beacon of knowledge, now reduced to rubble—a stark witness to an ongoing crime against humanity.
