Students and staff work to bring Islamic University of Gaza back to life
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- Islamic University of Gaza lost 19 educational buildings, roughly 500 classrooms, 200 scientific laboratories, 75 computer laboratories, and more than 240,000 books, journals, and academic theses from its central library to Israeli bombing since October 2023.
- Yassin al-Nounou, the university's laboratory coordinator, said anatomy models and educational skeletons for medical training arrived just days before the war began on October 8, 2023, then were lost when massive bombing commenced.
- Deema Muhaisen, a medical student, has spent two years volunteering in emergency departments, wound care units, and surgery departments across Gaza hospitals after the medicine faculty was destroyed on December 9, 2023, receiving lectures in "hospital corners and between patient rooms."
- The university has established five branches across different parts of the Gaza Strip to reduce travel difficulties for students scattered across the enclave, since main campus buildings are either destroyed or serving as shelters for displaced Palestinians.
- Abdulraouf Ali al-Manama, dean of the health sciences faculty, called the past three years "one of the greatest disasters in the university's history" and said rebuilding requires complete reconstruction of laboratories, equipment, and training materials, not just damaged buildings.
- The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, working with UNESCO, found most higher education institutions in Gaza sustained significant damage since 2023, with hundreds of specialized laboratories losing their ability to operate.
- Israel's siege on Gaza continues to prevent importing medical equipment, construction materials, and spare parts, leaving the university's rebuilding plans at a "theoretical stage" reliant on accessing funds and importing equipment.
Why it matters: The Islamic University trained a significant share of Gaza's medical, health science, and engineering professionals. With 200 laboratories destroyed, 240,000 books lost, and Israel's blockade blocking imports of equipment and materials, the institution cannot produce the healthcare and technical workforce that Gaza's eventual recovery will require—turning a campus crisis into a multi-decade recovery bottleneck.
