Educide in Gaza: The systematic destruction of education during genocide

Political and military conflicts occasionally result in the formation of geopolitical entities that exist in the interstices of political territorialities. The Gaza Strip that was formed during the 1948 Arab – Israeli War is one case study of such a geopolitical entity. The Gaza Strip came under Egyptian military rule and tens of thousands of displaced Palestinian Arabs became refugees living in camps established in its bounds, tripling the original population. Following the end of the war, the Gaza Strip’s borders were closed, its economy was almost completely paralyzed, and most of its residents lived in poverty and distress. Economic and social deprivation along with undecided geopolitical status created a territorial hotspot whose instability threatened to deteriorate into the renewal of war. From early 1949 and until the Israeli withdrawal in March 1957 that followed its occupation during the 1956 war, Egyptian and Israeli governments and the international political system sought to “normalize” the Gaza Strip and extricate it from the interstices of political territorialities. This article expands on the economic and military plans and political negotiations conducted toward this “normalization” aim during a period of about eight years.

The Cape Hare (Lepus capensis Linnaeus, 1758) is the only lagomorph in Palestine (27,000 km2). Although it was common in the Gaza Strip 4-5 decades ago, its present occurrence is restricted by several overlapping factors. The current study aims to spotlight the hunting of, and the threats facing, Cape Hares in the Gaza Strip (365 km2). This descriptive study, which lasted 5 years (2016 – 2020), was based on frequent field visits and observations in addition to meetings and discussions with wildlife hunters and farmers. We found that the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip were the main hunting places for Cape Hares. The methods involved in hare hunting included shooting, foothold traps, live traps known locally as "maltash", net walls, pit traps and coursing which involves the use of greyhounds. Wildlife hunters described the hunting of Cape Hares as a complicated task due to its low occurrence, extreme caution, difficulty of tracking it, presence near the Israeli security fence, which poses a danger to hunters, in addition to the great experience and high concentration that such hunting requires. Cape Hares face several threats, some of which are Israeli, and some specific to Gazans and the environment of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli threats include the Israeli security fence which prevents the natural flow of wildlife between the Gaza Strip and the rest of the Palestinian territories, Israeli wars and invasions, and the Israeli spraying of herbicides at the eastern border areas of the Gaza Strip for claimed security reasons which eradicates the plant cover supporting hares and other fauna with shelter and food. The Gazan threats include urban encroachment at the expense of natural habitats, excessive use of chemical pesticides, overhunting of Cape Hares, noticeable increase of opportunistic carnivores feeding on Cape Hares, and weakness of environmental awareness campaigns and laws that protect wildlife. Finally, the study recommends the use of all possible means to sustainably protect and conserve wildlife including Cape Hares in the Gaza Strip.

Destructive war means severe and widespread destruction. Genocide means killing members of a specific group of people, causing them serious physical and/or mental harm, deliberately subjecting them to living conditions intended to cause their total/partial physical destruction, and imposing on them measures intended to prevent births. Ethnic cleansing means the organized and often violent attempts by a particular cultural or racial group to remove all members of a different group from their homeland. The area of the Gaza Strip is 365 km 2 , and its population is approximately 2.3 million Palestinians. It is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (6,000 km 2 ) and an essential part of Historic Palestine (27,000 km 2 ) and has been facing an all-out war since October 8, 2023, by the Israeli occupation forces. Many observers around the world, including governments and international organizations that include United Nations, consider this war as being described “destructive, genocidal, and ethnic cleansing.” As a result of this war, about 63,000 innocent Palestinians have been killed, about 160,000 injured, and more than 20,000 missing—75% of whom are women, children, and elderly. This is in addition to the displacement of about two million Palestinians from their homes across the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, Israel has dropped more than 100,000 tons of explosives (bombs, missiles, etc.) on the Gaza Strip, representing 4–5 times the number of nuclear bombs dropped by the United States on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. This research article examines the devastating impacts of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and its population from social, economic, geopolitical, environmental, health-wise, and human rights’ perspectives. This article, which documents the war events since October 8, 2023, until August 28, 2025, can serve a wide range of beneficiaries, including policy- and strategy-makers, politicians, academics, human rights activists, environmentalists, socioeconomists, Doctorate and Master students, and postdoctoral researchers, as well as various international organizations, including UN’s.

Insecurity in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon: a pilot study

Israel's escalation of genocidal violence and apartheid policies in Gaza, particularly after October 7, 2023, has intentionally targeted health care systems as part of a strategy to annihilate Palestinian life, which has significantly degraded the lives of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. This exploratory study aimed to analyze the health crisis faced by the Palestinian health system following the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. The study involved thirty participants from diverse professions, including doctors, nurses, midwives, hospital administrators, paramedics, pharmacists, humanitarian workers, mothers, and other health care providers from the Gaza Strip. Thematic content analysis of the interview transcripts led to the identification of five main themes: (a) collapse of health care infrastructure; (b) loss of medical personnel and resources; (c) maternal and infant health; (d) the spread of preventable and contagious diseases; and (e) mental health challenges for health care providers and patients. Establishing political freedom, ensuring human rights, and dismantling structural inequities are essential to safeguarding health and survival in Gaza. The health crisis in Gaza is a direct result of Israel's genocidal policies, and addressing this crisis requires ensuring accountability, dismantling apartheid structures, and restoring Palestinian sovereignty.

Academic motivation is one of the indices of success in scientific activities. Therefore, the goal of the present research is to predict academic motivation based on variables of personality traits, academic self-efficacy, academic alienation, and social support in students studying in different fields of paramedicine. The research was correlation-descriptive in which 183 paramedical university students in the academic year of 2019-2020 were selected by a two-stage cluster random sampling method, studying in the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected through the Vallerand Academic Motivation questionnaire, NEO Personality Inventory Test, Sherer Self-Efficacy questionnaire, Fleming Social Support questionnaire, and Johnson Academic Alienation, and the collected data were analyzed (Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression) using SPSS V.22 software. The results showed that personality traits of extroversion (), openness to experience (), conscientiousness (), and self-efficacy could predict academic motivation, significantly; but neuroticism (), and academic alienation () reversely related to academic motivation. Self-efficacy () could significantly predict academic motivation. There was also a significant relationship between social support and academic motivation. The results of the research illustrated that some of the personality traits and self-efficacy had a positive role in predicting academic motivation among paramedical students, and neuroticism and alienation had a reverse negative role in academic motivation. Therefore, in order to promote the academic level of students, it is necessary to improve the harmful effects of self-efficacy and some personality traits that improve better learning performance and quality.

Gaza’s health care and mental health systems have faced long-standing challenges due to years of political instability, continuous Israeli military wars, and a crippling blockade that has been in place since 2007. These factors have severely hindered Gaza’s ability to provide primary health care, resulting in a system that struggles to meet the needs of its population. Even before October 7th, 2023, Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure was on the brink of collapse, and mental health services were unable to meet the growing needs of the population. The October 3rd, 2023, Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip with its ‘systematic violations of human rights’ has led to the catastrophic deterioration of Gaza’s health infrastructure to date. This Israeli war with its ‘systematic violations of human rights’, marked by intense Israeli military operations and massive destruction, pushed an already fragile healthcare system into a severe crisis. This paper examines the state of healthcare and mental health services in Gaza. It evaluates the impact of the continued Israeli offensives in the Gaza Strip, particularly during the 2023-2024 Israeli war with ‘systematic violations of human rights’.

Having adequate knowledge by midwives about postnatal care is very important for the safety of mother and her baby. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a designed education program on midwives’ knowledge about postnatal care. Methodology: The study used one group pretest, posttest experimental design. The study used two samples: First sample (convenience) used to assess knowledge by questionnaire included 181 midwives from all the maternity hospitals in GS, and the second sample (census) included all the midwives )76 midwives) who are working in Al Emaraty Maternity Hospital and attended the education program for one month. The researcher collected data in two stages: before the education program (pretest) and after the education program (posttest). The researcher conducted a pilot study on 30 midwives to check validity and reliability of the questionnaire and alpha coefficient was 0.891. The researcher used SPSS version 25 for statistical analysis. Results: 32.9% of study participants aged less than 30 years, 76.3% of study participants have bachelor degree, 78.9% of study participants are married, 36.8% have an experience of 5 years and less, and 72.4% have an income of 1800 NIS and less. There was statistically significant increase in participants’ knowledge about immediate postnatal care after the education program (m= 0.98) compared to knowledge before the educational program (m= 0.93). Also, there was statistically significant increase in participants’ knowledge about care provided to the mothers and babies after one hour post-delivery after the education program (m= 0.98) compared to knowledge before the educational program (m= 0.90). Moreover, there was statistically significant increase in participants’ knowledge about health education and discharge planning after the education program (m= 0.99) compared to knowledge before the educational program (m= 0.88). There were statistically no significant differences in knowledge score before and after the education program related to age, level of education, marital status, years of experience, income, and previous training. Conclusion: The study concluded that the education program successfully enhanced midwives' knowledge in various aspects of postnatal care, contributing to improved maternal and newborn health outcomes. Recommendations: The study recommended the need for continuous monitoring and evaluation of knowledge levels, which will help identify the training needs and ensure the delivery of high-quality care to mothers and newborns.

This paper argues for a psychological understanding of Nietzsche's categories of master and slave morality. Disentangling Nietzsche's parallel discourses of strength, superiority, and spirituality in the first essay of On the Genealogy of Morals, I argue that master and slave morality are better understood as ethical practices of the self than surrogates for either a binary classification of strength and weakness or a political demarcation of oppressor and oppressed. In doing so, I offer an application of this analysis to the horrific violence visited upon the Gaza Strip by Israel in its 2008-09 military assault. 1 IN LATE JANUARY 2009, I SAT DOWN to re-read Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals. I remember this otherwise uneventful event so distinctly because, at that moment, Israel's war on Gaza was brutally and unremittingly underway. During this 3-week-long military attack, Israel killed over 1400 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians and approximately 400 of whom were children. Israel, in fact, deliberately targeted civilians—including children and humanitarian aid workers—assaulting Palestinians simultaneously by air, land, and sea, and deploying white phosphorus against them, a chemical intended to operate as a smokescreen for troop movements but when used as a weapon burns people's flesh down to the bone. 2 The brutality of Israel's war was all the more agonizing

This study aimed to analyze the relationships between the perception of the autonomy-support style created by the professor, the global academic intrinsic motivation and its three subtypes (to know, toward accomplishments, and to experience stimulation), and the life skills of future physical education (PE) teachers and sports coaches. The participants were 583 students (Mage = 20.77 years, SD = 2.94; 65% were men) belonging to a higher education program specialized in the training of PE teachers and sports coaches in Mexico. The results of the structural equation models showed that the perception of the autonomy-support style adopted by the professors was positively and significantly related to global academic intrinsic motivation and its three subtypes, and these were positively and significantly associated with each life skill. The mediation analyses confirmed the mediating role of global academic intrinsic motivation and subtypes between the perception of the autonomy-support style adopted by the professors and the student’s life skills. In conclusion, to promote the development of life skills in future PE teachers and sport coaches, it will not only be enough for their teachers to generate positive environments of autonomy-supportive styles, but they must also have intrinsic reasons to enhance these skills.

This study examined the interrelationships between e‐learning, academic self‐efficacy (ASE), academic motivation (AM) and academic performance (AP) among English language learners as foreign language (EFL) students in 2024. Despite the growing use of e‐learning in educational settings, there is a limited understanding of its relationships with these variables, particularly in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) contexts. Data were collected from 462 undergraduate and master's students at Hunan University using self‐report measures and analysed with SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0. The significance of investigating EFL learners lies in the unique challenges they face in language acquisition, making them a critical group for studying the effects of e‐learning. The study utilised several statistical tests, including the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for normality, Cronbach's Alpha for reliability, Pearson correlation coefficient for examining relationships between variables, and structural equation modelling (SEM) for testing the conceptual model. The results indicated a significant positive relationship between e‐learning and AP, demonstrating that active engagement in e‐learning is associated with higher levels of AP in EFL students. Additionally, ASE and AM were identified as mediators, suggesting that higher levels of ASE and AM contribute to higher AP in this population. These findings emphasise the importance of considering the relationship between e‐learning, ASE, AM and AP in language instruction and curriculum design. The implications of the study suggest integrating e‐learning platforms and tools in language instruction to enhance AP outcomes. Future research should consider longitudinal studies and explore the role of additional factors such as student engagement and teacher support in e‐learning contexts. Furthermore, language teachers should foster students' ASE and AM through a positive and supportive learning environment, engaging experiences and activities that promote these factors. By integrating these elements, language teachers can help EFL students develop the necessary skills and motivation for successful language learning.

The 2014 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip was described, as the ‘longest’ and ‘most violent’, compared to previous wars since 2008. This paper reports on this war experiences for educationalists (academic staff and students) at two of Gaza’s universities. It draws on 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews with educationalists in the Gaza Strip, which I conducted via Skype and mobile/phones from the UK, for my PhD research at the University of Cambridge. Theoretically, the inductive study uses insights from Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Bourdieu’s work on symbolic violence, retrospectively. Findings from this research show the impact of the war on Gaza’s educationalists has varied between vulnerability and resilience. The memories of loss, fear, and dehumanization continued to affect educationalists, even after the war came to halt. Some of Gaza’s universities buildings, and facilities were also damaged. Consequently, Gaza’s universities found themselves in a dilemma on how to manage immediate needs, with developmental prospects. This paper documents the history of Gaza’s universities, enhancing our sociological understanding of the experiences of higher education in the Gaza Strip, and the challenges for its development. The research widens the geographical scope of research on conflict, and education, by including the experiences of educationalists in the occupied and besieged context of Gaza, which is significantly under-researched. Insights from this research could be useful to inform the process of reconstruction of higher education in the Gaza Strip, after Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, since 7th October 2023 comes to end.

The war that broke out in October 2024 between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Palestinian Gaza Strip caused a wide resonance far beyond the Middle East. One of the echoes of the conflict was the rise of threats related to terrorist and extremist manifestations in European countries. In particular, a significant increase in xenophobic (primarily anti-Semitic and Islamophobic) manifestations was recorded; representatives of the European states’ special services issued warnings about the possibility of terrorist attacks provoked by the Gaza war. The events in the Gaza Strip have become both an indicator of the sentiments existing within European societies that are far from the ideas of universal tolerance promoted by the establishment and a catalyst for intercommunal tensions in Europe. To a certain extent, the “message” carried by certain terrorist actions in European countries can also serve as a reminder to society about conflicts, especially the ones in the Middle East. In this regard, it is important to mention the easily noticeable difference between the approaches of European countries to conflicts in Ukraine and in the Gaza Strip. If in the former case the European countries took an uncompromising anti-Russian position, coupled not only with sanctions against Russia, but also with a boycott of everything Russian, then in the latter case, the attitude towards Israel’s harsh actions, leading to mass civilian casualties among the Palestinians, is not so obvious. Ritual calls to reduce the suffering of the civilian population are often coupled with open support – in word and deed – for Israel in its confrontation with Hamas. The article examines the potential and real threats associated with terrorist activity in Europe. The growth of xenophobic sentiments in Europe, as well as the widespread dissemination on the Internet of images of civilians killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone on both sides, serves as a breeding ground for radicalization of some European residents and, possibly, a harbinger of acts of extremist and even terrorist violence, in which the main danger is the jihadist underground operating in European countries. From the point of view of the terrorist threat to Europe, parallels are drawn between the situation related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the recent conflicts in other regions (such as the invasion of Iraq, the anti-terrorist campaign in Afghanistan, and the war in Syria). Differences are also noted between conflicts in which European countries were or remain directly involved, and the war in Gaza, where Europe’s involvement is not direct. In addition, the possibility of terrorist manifestations by various actors (both internal and external to Europe) is analyzed, and it is concluded that homegrown self-radicalized lone extremists pose the greatest danger to European countries.

Background: Preterm birth is one of most common health problems, associated with neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Globally, every year, an estimated 15 million neonates are born preterm, this number is rising globally as well as in 2015, preterm birth and low birth weight accounted for about 17% of infant deaths and more than one million died due to complications in the first month of life. Mother's attitudes about neonate care influences the nature and quality of care that is given to the preterm. Hence, this study aims to evaluate mothers' attitudes of health caring for premature infants after discharge from NICU in the Gaza Strip. Methods: A Quantitative, cross-sectional design study was used to survey 120 mothers of preterm neonates at the time of discharge by face-to-face interview at Al-Shifa medical complex and Nasser hospital between February and June 2018 Results: The results showed that about 88.3% of mothers of preterm babies had positive attitudes about health care needed for preterm neonates after discharge from NICU. Mothers admitted to Al-Shifa hospital had significantly higher attitudes than who were admitted to Nasser hospital. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between the level of attitudes and mother’s other sociodemographic characteristics (P-values > 0.05). Conclusion: Mothers’ attitudes of preterm neonates care was not at the optimal level, which might put the newborns at risk. Therefore, the study emphasis to maternal education during hospitalization in NICU prior to discharge, certain components of essential preterm care package need more emphasis during education program.

The article is devoted to a philosophical study of the religious dimension in HAMAS ideology and the influence of a religious factor on the development of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The article provides a valuable and functional analysis of the main programmatic ideological text of HAMAS: those abstracts from this text that directly relate to religious issues are highlighted, a broad involvement of religion in the ideological foundations of HAMAS is demonstrated. The article also analyzes the place of HAMAS in the events during the First Intifada and the role of the movement at the beginning of the Second Intifada. The purpose of the study is to broaden the involvement of the role of religion in the Arab-Israeli conflict in the consideration of Ukrainian philosophy, religious studies and humanities in general, with a view to further utilizing Middle Eastern experience in the study, prevention and resolution of religious conflicts in Ukraine. Iryna Zvyagelska particularly emphasizes the great role of social programs (such as fundraising for low-income Palestinians, organizing youth education, etc.), which she conducts among Hamas Palestinians in the context of expanding the organization's influence. This helped Hamas gain the support of the Palestinians and channel some of the conflict into a religious dimension. Irina Zvyagelska notes that if the settlement of the conflict was accompanied by an improvement in the welfare of Palestinians, the chances of Hamas influence would be significantly reduced. The question of whether the Hamas programming document and its postulate correlates with the real attitude of ordinary Hamas members or leaders to, for example, Jews living outside Israel is undoubtedly important. The question is whether the creation of Hamas influenced the Palestinians, making the religious factor more important and visible in protest circles, or vice versa - Hamas appeared because there was already a certain social demand for the emergence of such a movement. There is a version that, at the very beginning of Hamas's existence, Israeli intelligence services, while underestimating the newly-born structure, were interested in strengthening it to use Hamas in its fight against ORP, seeing it as a more serious threat. During the Second Hamad Intifada, a large number of Palestinian youth were mobilized under flags with radical religious slogans that called for an uncompromising struggle against Israel as occupier, with settlers in the Gaza Strip and with Israeli military, as well as with Israeli soldiers. A brief analysis of some of the HAMAS Charter abstracts and the movement's activities shows a very high level of involvement of the religious component in the Arab-Israeli conflict. HAMAS plays an extremely important role in the Gaza Strip and in the region as a whole. Investigating not only their political activism but also their ideological base is a crucial point for understanding the situation not only among Palestinians and Israelis, but throughout the Middle East. The HAMAS example also shows that the involvement of a religious factor in social conflict significantly increases the risk of exacerbation of the conflict and its transition to a protracted phase with uncertain prospects for peace negotiations. However, the activities of HAMAS show that it is focused on achieving not only purely religious but also specific political, economic, educational and other social and cultural goals. Therefore, in our opinion, it is also possible to rely on these other aspects of HAMAS's efforts to seek peace or at least start peace talks. This should be the subject of a separate future study. Keywords: religious conflict, HAMAS, Islam, Judaism, Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestinian-Israeli conflict.