RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

More than 20,000 Palestinian students were killed and over 31,000 injured in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank since October 2023, official figures showed on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Palestinian Education Ministry said that 19,910 students in Gaza and 148 others in the occupied West Bank lost their lives in attacks by the Israeli army.

Israeli army fire also injured 30,097 students in Gaza and 1,042 others in the West Bank, it added.

According to the ministry, 1,037 teachers and school administrative staff were killed, 4,740 others injured, and more than 228 detained in both areas since the start of the Israeli war in Gaza in October 2023.

The ministry said Israeli attacks completely destroyed 179 schools and 63 university buildings in Gaza, and partially damaged 118 governmental schools and 100 UN-run schools.

Data also showed that 30 schools were completely removed from the official register of the ministry, including the students and the teachers.

In the West Bank, two schools were fully destroyed in Hebron and Tubas, and eight university buildings were partially damaged in repeated Israeli raids, the ministry said.

Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed over 68,200 people and injured more than 170,300 in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The occupied West Bank also witnessed a sharp rise in attacks over the same period, with at least 1,056 Palestinians killed, around 10,300 injured, and more than 20,000, including 1,600 children, detained, according to official Palestinian figures.