A group of academics and activists launched a comprehensive documentary report titled 'Remember Them: Palestinian Scientists Killed in the Gaza Genocide,' aiming to monitor the systematic Israeli targeting of the scientific elite in the Strip. The report presents the biographies of dozens of professors and researchers who were martyred with their families due to direct bombing of their homes or displacement centers during the ongoing war.
The report's release coincides with the inauguration of a digital archive bearing the same name, which aims to collect and preserve the curricula vitae and scientific achievements of Palestinian scientists lost in Gaza. The project organizers describe what the academic cadres have been subjected to as a 'systematic genocide' that falls within a broader context of genocide targeting the Palestinian presence in all its sectors.
The report's authors affirmed that the crimes committed against academics obligate the international community to intervene immediately, noting that the victims were internationally renowned in their research fields. They stressed that these scientists were not only a property of Palestine but formed an integral part of the global intellectual community, which lost outstanding scientific and humanitarian contributions with their passing.
The report highlighted prominent examples of martyrs, foremost among them physicist Sofian Tayeh, president of the Islamic University and holder of the UNESCO Chair in Physics and Space Sciences. The documentation also included engineer Khaled Al-Ramlawi, professor of engineering, and young lecturer Rula Abdel Jawad, along with dozens of specialists in medicine, social sciences, and humanities.
The project does not only document human losses but also paints a bleak picture of the organized destruction that has affected the higher education infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Documentary sources reported that the occupation destroyed all 12 universities operating in the Strip, in addition to seven other educational institutions, leading to a complete paralysis of the educational system.
Data indicates that more than 57 university buildings, including faculties, laboratories, and historical libraries, were completely razed to the ground by the end of March 2025. The methods of destruction varied between direct aerial bombardment and deliberate detonation with mines after some university buildings were converted into temporary barracks and military centers.
The report paused at the crime of destroying Al-Israa University, which the Israeli army occupied for several weeks before completely blowing it up in January 2024. The demolition included lecture halls and advanced laboratories, in addition to the national museum, which housed thousands of rare artifacts documenting the region's history.
Academics drew attention to the phenomenon of 'scholasticide,' a term that expresses the deliberate attack on the educational system to break the will of society. Experts believe that this targeting aims to strip Palestinians of the ability to produce knowledge in the future and hinder the path of sustainable development.
Regarding student losses, the report revealed that approximately 87,000 male and female students were deprived of their right to university education as a result of the destruction of educational institutions. It also documented the martyrdom of more than 1,200 university students and over 200 faculty members, most of whom were targeted in direct raids.
The report clarified that the real loss is not only in numbers but in the educational and societal roles that these professors played. These individuals represented the scientific authority and role models for the rising generation of doctors, engineers, and writers who are relied upon to build an independent Palestinian state.
The text pointed to the significant challenges faced by academics in Gaza before their martyrdom, as many of them chose to return to the Strip after completing their studies abroad. These individuals continued their scientific contributions despite the suffocating siege imposed since 2007, and the accompanying severe shortage of resources and continuous power outages.
The archive's website is considered a 'project in formation,' as volunteers continue to collect information from victims' families and human rights organizations to update the data. The website aims to be a global reference that commemorates Palestinian scientists and demands accountability for those responsible for their direct and deliberate targeting.
The report concluded by emphasizing that documenting these biographies comes within the framework of honoring the achievements of the deceased scientists and insisting on prosecuting their killers legally. The initiative's organizers stressed that Palestinian memory will remain alive, and attempts to erase Gaza's cognitive identity will not succeed in light of ongoing documentation and archiving efforts.
The elimination of faculty members and the destruction of universities represent 'scholasticide' aimed at breaking Palestinian society and stripping it of the tools of knowledge.
شارك برأيك
Launch of a digital archive documenting the 'systematic genocide' of Gaza's scientific and academic elite