“The scenes of the killing of children and students in the Gaza Strip violate all norms and conventions,” said the Ministry of Education in a statement. “These horrific scenes, broadcast on television and the media, reveal the mentality of the Israeli occupation and its continued targeting of education in all governorates of the country, including the West Bank and Jerusalem governorates where there are scenes of killings in cold blood, storming of schools, and obstruction of the arrival of students and educational staff to their schools.”

The Ministry said that on this International Children’s Day, it “calls on the countries and institutions of the world to protect the right of Palestinian children and students to life and education, and to stand up to the occupation and the oppressive practices of its army and settlers in their continuous targeting of children,” stressing the natural right of Palestinian children to a decent life and a safe and stable education.

It also called on all organizations and institutions defending childhood and the right to education “to assume their responsibilities within the context of their jurisdiction, curb the escalating violations and stop the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against children, students and educational staff in all regions, and to intervene urgently and immediately to stop this aggression.”

More than 5,000 children, including more than 3,000 students, in the Gaza Strip were killed in the Israeli aggression since October 7, and 23 students were killed in West Bank schools.