SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Learn more.

Date of Incident: August 05, 2022

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances

Institution(s):Al Quds Open University

Region & Country:Western Asia | Palestine (OPT)

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On August 5, 2022, Israel conducted airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, damaging a branch of Al-Quds Open University in northern Gaza, injuring hundreds, and killing several students. 

The attack reportedly took place amidst mounting tensions between Israeli forces and Palestinian militant groups. In a statement issued by Al-Quds Open University following the airstrike, the institution “condemns the brutal Israeli aggression, which targeted our people in the Gaza Strip, […] and also caused damage to the university’s branch in the northern Gaza Strip, as the occupation shells targeted it directly.”

Reports indicate that the following students were killed in the strikes: Osama Abdul Rahman Al Suri (University of Palestine), Tamim Ghassan Hegazy (University of Palestine), Doniana Adnan Al-Amour (Al-Aqsa University), Ahmed Adeeb Afana (Al-Quds Open University), Ziyad Ahmed Al-Mudallal (Israa University).

Gaza University reported that Abdel Aziz Rami Shakya, a student, had been injured.

In response to the airstrikes, eight universities in the Gaza Strip—University College of Applied Sciences – Gaza, the Islamic University of Gaza, Al-Aqsa University, Al-Azhar University – Gaza, the University of Palestine, Gaza University, Al-Quds Open University and Israa University Gaza—announced their temporary closure. 

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the apparent targeting of university facilities in armed conflict. Parties to a conflict may only attack legitimate military targets; where a party suspects that a civilian facility—such as a university building—is being used for military purposes, that party has a duty to take every action practicable to verify that this suspicion is correct before initiating an attack. In the event of such an attack, parties must take all practicable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilian facilities. Likewise, parties must refrain from using higher education facilities for military purposes during active conflict. Further, parties must refrain from launching attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate damage to civilian facilities.

Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/QouChannel/posts/pfbid027n3Exp2tTx7RsLEo15opTZN49d4s5VUCQoxq8KRYWirhWHZouhV2fs8bDJ9maqJRl

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220809063908464 

https://qudsnen.co/un-deeply-concerned-over-israels-bombardment-of-gaza-wennesland-says/ 

https://unsco.unmissions.org/statement-un-special-coordinator-middle-east-peace-process-tor-wennesland-situation-occupied-west-1