Ministry of Education and Higher Education: We express our deep concern over the grave repercussions of the continued targeting of students and children in the Gaza Strip

Ministry of Education and Higher Education: ▪ We express our deep concern over the grave repercussions of the continued targeting of students and children in the Gaza Strip, as the number of children martyrs (killed) has risen to five following the announcement of the martyrdom of the child Majd Muhammad Fakhri Hassan (15 years old), a development that reflects the scale of the risks surrounding children and obstructing their right to life, safety, and education. ▪ We affirm that the killing of five children in a series of successive incidents is not merely a number in the record of events, but a grave human and educational loss and a violation of the rights of children, who must be provided with protection and care so they can continue their education without fear of bullets or shelling. ▪ Students are exposed to danger while going to and from their schools and in the vicinity of the places where they are present and receiving education, which increases concerns for their safety and calls on the international community to assume its legal and humanitarian responsibilities to act urgently rather than merely monitor and document. ▪ We call on the United Nations, UNICEF, and the relevant international bodies concerned with human rights and child rights, as well as institutions defending the right to education, to move from monitoring to measurable field and legal measures that ensure the protection of students and limit their exposure to killing and injury, and secure their safe access to their schools and educational centers. ▪ We urge the professional and independent documentation of attacks against students, the investigation of their circumstances and the accountability of those responsible in accordance with international law, and the establishment of urgent protection arrangements for children, educational institutions, and workers in the education sector to prevent the recurrence of these incidents and bring their continuation to an end. ▪ We affirm that the protection of children is neither an optional choice nor a temporary response to events, but a legal and humanitarian duty. ▪ We affirm that the right to education is closely linked to the right to life, and that any talk of continuing education lacks usefulness unless there are real guarantees that protect students' lives and preserve their dignity. ▪ We affirm that every student lost in these circumstances represents a future deprived of its opportunities, with their family facing irreparable pain, and a society bearing vast human and educational losses. ▪ We call for urgent and effective international action that places the protection of Palestinian children at the top of the priorities, and translates international commitments into tangible measures that end impunity and protect students' right to life and safe education.