Nearly every school in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed
Across 83 countries, the places where children gather to learn have become targets of deliberate violence at a scale not seen in generations. Between 2024 and 2025, more than 8,500 attacks struck schools and educational facilities worldwide — a 40 percent rise in just two years — harming over 10,600 students, teachers, and staff, with Ukraine, Palestine, and Haiti bearing the heaviest wounds. What the numbers reveal is troubling enough; what they conceal, in the silence of conflict zones where no one is counting, may be more troubling still. Humanity has long understood that to attack a school is to attack a future, yet that understanding has not slowed the violence.
- A 40 percent surge in school attacks in just two years signals that education has become a deliberate theater of war, not merely its casualty.
- Gaza's near-total destruction of school infrastructure and Ukraine's 900-plus strikes represent the most concentrated educational devastation, while Haiti's sudden emergence in the data warns that the crisis is still spreading.
- The near-doubling of military occupation of schools — over 1,900 documented cases — transforms classrooms into barracks, exposing children to recruitment, sexual violence, and retaliatory bombardment.
- Girls face a compounding threat: coordinated attacks on girls' schools, sexual violence used as a weapon in multiple countries, and in Afghanistan, the state itself dismantling female education through detention and decree.
- Explosive weapons, including drones, struck schools during class hours in roughly 300 attacks, killing students and teachers and forcing prolonged closures that deepen both educational loss and psychological trauma.
- The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack is pressing governments and the UN to act on five fronts — from legal protections to early warning systems — but the Safe Schools Declaration's endorsements have not yet translated into safety.
The world's schools are under siege. Between 2024 and 2025, at least 8,500 educational institutions were struck by armed groups, military forces, and other attackers — a rise of more than 40 percent over the previous two-year period. More than 10,600 students, teachers, and school staff across 83 countries were harmed. Researchers believe the true toll is substantially higher, hidden by conflict zones where information cannot move freely and violence goes unrecorded.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack identified the worst-affected regions in its 2026 report. Ukraine endured over 900 documented school attacks. Palestine recorded more than 2,000, and by the end of 2025, nearly every school building in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed. Haiti, newly included in the analysis, logged over 400 attacks. Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia also ranked among the hardest-hit countries, while Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon showed the deadliest patterns when measured by casualties.
Among the most alarming findings was the near-doubling of military occupation of schools — over 1,900 documented cases in which armed forces seized educational facilities. Beyond halting classes, this transforms schools into military infrastructure, raising the risk of child recruitment, sexual violence, and retaliatory strikes.
Girls have become deliberate targets. Schools serving girls faced coordinated assaults across multiple countries, and in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Haiti, and Nigeria, sexual violence was used as a weapon of war. In Afghanistan, the threat came from the state itself, which shut down learning centers for girls above sixth grade and detained female teachers.
The methods of attack have grown more lethal. Explosive weapons, including drone-delivered munitions, were used in roughly 300 school strikes, many during class hours, killing students and educators and forcing extended closures. Lead researcher Felicity Pearce noted that even these figures understate the crisis, describing a world experiencing conflict at levels unseen since World War II.
The coalition has called on governments, the United Nations, and international donors to strengthen legal protections, end military use of schools, sustain global monitoring, protect education during electoral cycles, and fund early warning systems. The Safe Schools Declaration provides the framework — but endorsement alone has not stopped the violence.
The world's schools are under siege. In the span of just two years, from 2024 to 2025, armed groups, military forces, and other attackers struck at least 8,500 educational institutions globally—a jump of more than 40 percent compared to the previous reporting period. The toll fell on over 10,600 students, teachers, and school staff across 83 countries. What makes this figure especially grim is what it does not capture: researchers believe the true number of attacks is substantially higher, obscured by conflict zones where information cannot flow freely, humanitarian workers cannot reach, and violence goes unrecorded.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, which released these findings in its 2026 report, identified the worst-hit regions with precision. Ukraine endured more than 900 documented attacks on schools. Palestine experienced over 2,000 attacks, and by the end of 2025, nearly every school building in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed. Haiti, newly included in the coalition's analysis, recorded over 400 attacks. Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia also appeared among the countries with the highest attack counts. When measured by casualties rather than incidents, Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, and Cameroon showed the deadliest patterns.
One of the most alarming trends was the near-doubling of military occupation of schools. The coalition documented over 1,900 cases in which armed forces or armed groups took control of educational facilities. This occupation does more than interrupt classes. It transforms schools into military infrastructure, increasing the likelihood that children will be recruited into armed groups, that sexual violence will occur, and that schools will become targets for retaliatory strikes. Colombia, the DRC, and Ethiopia bore the heaviest burden of this particular form of attack.
Girls and young women have become deliberate targets. Schools serving girls faced coordinated assaults in multiple countries. In Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Haiti, and Nigeria, attackers used sexual violence as a weapon of war. Afghanistan presented a different but equally devastating picture: the government itself shut down learning centers for girls above the sixth grade and detained female teachers, effectively dismantling girls' education through state action rather than armed attack.
The methods of attack have grown more lethal. Explosive weapons—including those delivered by drones—were used in roughly 300 attacks on schools. Many of these strikes occurred during school hours, when buildings were full of children and educators. The explosions killed students and teachers and forced schools to close for extended periods, compounding the educational damage with psychological trauma.
Felicity Pearce, the lead researcher for the 2026 report, emphasized that even these stark numbers understate the crisis. "We believe the true increase is far higher," she said. Escalating conflict, restricted access for humanitarian monitors, and information blackouts in war zones mean that countless attacks never enter any official count. The world is seeing conflict at levels not witnessed since World War II, and education has become collateral damage on a historic scale.
The coalition has called on governments, the United Nations, and international donors to act on five fronts: strengthen legal protections for children and schools, end military use of educational facilities, maintain global monitoring systems despite access challenges, protect schools during electoral cycles, and fund early warning systems that might prevent attacks before they happen. The Safe Schools Declaration, endorsed by numerous nations, remains the framework for these protections—but endorsement alone has not stopped the violence.
Notable Quotes
We believe the true increase is far higher. Escalating conflict, shrinking humanitarian access, and widespread information blackouts mean many attacks are never reported.— Felicity Pearce, lead researcher for Education Under Attack 2026
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why are schools becoming targets in the first place? What's the military logic?
Schools are often the largest buildings in a community with solid infrastructure—roofs, walls, open spaces. Armed groups occupy them because they're useful. But there's also a message being sent: attacking education is a way to break a society's future. It's both practical and psychological.
The report mentions that actual numbers are probably much higher. How much higher are we talking?
No one knows for certain. In active conflict zones, there's no one to count. Hospitals are destroyed, communication networks are down, journalists can't reach affected areas. A school might be bombed and no international organization ever hears about it. The 8,500 figure is what made it into reports—the tip of an iceberg.
Girls' education seems to be singled out. Is that a deliberate strategy or a side effect?
Both. In some places, like Afghanistan, it's explicit state policy. In others, like Nigeria and Cameroon, armed groups use sexual violence against girls as a tactic of control and terror. It's deliberate in the sense that attackers know girls' schools are vulnerable and that targeting them sends a message about who controls a territory.
What does it mean for a country's future when this many schools are damaged or destroyed?
It means a generation loses years of education. In Gaza, nearly every school is damaged or destroyed. Even if the violence stops tomorrow, rebuilding takes years. Children who should be learning are instead dealing with trauma, displacement, or child labor. The economic and social costs compound for decades.
The report calls for ending military use of schools. Is that realistic?
It's the right ask, but enforcement is the problem. The Safe Schools Declaration exists, countries have signed it, and schools are still being occupied. Without consequences for violations, the declaration is mostly symbolic. Real change would require countries to actually prosecute violations and donors to condition aid on compliance.