The Palestinian Ministry of Education today accused the Israeli army of killing more than 15,000 children in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict there almost eight months ago.

In a statement marking Tuesday’s International Day of Innocent Child Victims of Aggression, the ministry said another 64 students were killed in the West Bank during that time.

This sector of the population is paying the highest price as a result of the ongoing aggression, the text warned.

It also criticised the systematic destruction of schools and kindergartens in the coastal enclave, which is home to more than two million people.

Since the start of the war campaign on 7 October last year, more than 700,000 pupils have been deprived of schooling in the Strip, 88,000 of them at university, it said.

In view of this situation, he called on the international community, especially non-governmental organisations defending children and human rights, to protect Palestinian children and to demand an end to the war.

Last April, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa accused Israel of destroying the education system in Gaza.

In a recent report, the Ministry of Education reported that more than 6,000 schoolchildren have been killed and more than 10,000 injured there since October.

At least 286 public schools and 65 schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East were bombed in Gaza, he said.

Of the total, 111 were severely damaged and another 40 were completely destroyed.