Ceasefire in Name Only: Gaza’s Educational Ruins Highlight the Reality of Ongoing Conflict

Diplomatic terms like ceasefire often carry a heavy dose of institutional optimism that reality simply refuses to accommodate. In Gaza, the official truce established in October 2025 has accumulated a body count that tells a rather different story. The latest series of military strikes across the enclave illustrates the persistent gap between paper agreements and operational reality on the ground.

On Sunday, the Islamic University in Gaza City became a focal point once again, suffering two separate attacks within hours. A drone strike initially wounded seven female students, leaving one critically injured, before a subsequent air strike killed three security guards on the campus grounds. Most of the institution's infrastructure was already in ruins prior to Sunday, leaving only a couple of buildings partially standing. The violence was by no means confined to the capital: two people were killed and several wounded—including a child—by Israeli shelling in al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, according to the Nasser Medical Complex. Drone strikes and shelling also claimed lives east of Deir el-Balah and near Hamad Hospital on al-Rashid Street.

The systematic erosion of educational infrastructure in Gaza has become an established feature of the conflict. Data from UNESCO indicates that nearly 95 percent of higher education campuses in the enclave have been destroyed or damaged since October 2023. Following the campus strikes, the Popular Resistance Committees in Palestine called upon mediators and international guarantors to intervene and halt Israeli violations. However, relying on external guarantors to enforce terms has consistently proven to be an exercise in futility.

The broader numbers supplied by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza highlight the persistent nature of the combat. Since the October 2025 ceasefire began, at least 1,551 people have been killed and 5,573 injured. These figures push the overall toll since October 2023 to 74,544 deaths and 175,692 wounded. At the same time, Israel continues to expand its physical footprint, with almost two-thirds of the territory now under Israeli military control or subject to strict movement restrictions. Coupled with ongoing crossing closures and a decline in international assistance funding, the population faces a worsening food crisis alongside the physical destruction of its basic institutions.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com