'Israel decimated entire education system in Gaza': Malala
What's the story
Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai has slammed Israel for its actions in Gaza, especially the destruction of the region's education infrastructure.
"In Gaza, Israel has decimated the entire education system," she said at a global summit on girls' education in Muslim nations.
Yousafzai said all universities and over 90% of schools have been destroyed by Israeli forces.
Civilian impact
Yousafzai criticizes Israel's attacks on civilians
Yousafzai also accused Israel of indiscriminately attacking civilians who sought refuge in school buildings.
She stressed how these actions affected Palestinian children, saying, "A Palestinian girl cannot have the future she deserves if her school is bombed and her family is killed."
The education advocate promised to continue raising these issues on an international level.
Conflict background
Conflict in Gaza: A brief overview
The Gaza conflict was sparked by a surprise Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which left 1,208 dead on the Israeli side, most of whom were civilians.
The Palestinian group also took 251 people hostage during the attack.
Israel's military response has caused heavy casualties in Gaza with the health ministry reporting 46,537 deaths so far.
Death toll
Study suggests higher death toll in Gaza
However, a study published in The Lancet indicates the death toll in Gaza could be much higher than reported, estimating deaths from traumatic injuries between 55,298 and 78,525 by June 30 last year.
This suggests a possible under-reporting of about 41%.
The research employed a statistical method "capture-recapture" to estimate deaths from three different data sources: hospital and morgue lists, health ministry online survey, and verified social media obituaries.
Missing persons
UN estimates 10,000 missing Gazans buried under rubble
The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA estimates that around 10,000 missing Gazans are buried under rubble.
Indirect causes like lack of healthcare and basic necessities have also impacted Gaza since October 2023.
The study's lead author Zeina Jamaluddine stressed the need to acknowledge high mortality rates instead of getting caught up in death toll debates.