We are in a battle for the future of higher education in Gaza. The destruction of our universities can only be reversed through sustained commitment from international partners.
Such pledges send a clear message to Israel and the international community that attempts to erase our institutions will not succeed, and that there will be a future for our colleagues and students.
The Emergency Committee of Universities in Gaza was established in June 2024 in response to the urgent call from academics in Gaza to coordinate international support to reopen and sustain higher education in Gaza.
Al Aqsa University, Al Azhar University-Gaza, and the Islamic University of Gaza have jointly articulated the priorities below. They are presented without ranking.
These priorities concern safeguarding universities as functioning public institutions, maintaining core operations, and enabling phased recovery and rehabilitation.
Universities require reconstruction to restore safe, functional campuses and enable a return to in person teaching, research, and student services.
Priority needs include:
These priorities concern sustaining teaching and learning, protecting academic integrity, and enabling cooperation that strengthens Gaza's universities as institutions of knowledge production.
Maintaining instruction requires reliable technology, platforms, and academic resources.
Priority needs include:
The Emergency Committee affirms the integrity of Gaza's universities as central to the survival of higher education in Palestine.
The Emergency Committee calls on international partners to act now through public pledges, sustained resourcing, and coordinated academic partnerships that enable Gaza's universities to continue teaching, protect their staff and students, and rebuild as functioning institutions of learning and research.
The collapse of Gaza's economy and tuition income has placed universities at immediate risk of institutional failure. Stabilisation support is required to sustain core functions, retain staff, and maintain academic delivery.
Priority needs include:
Students must be able to remain enrolled in their Gaza universities. Support to students is inseparable from support to institutions.
Priority needs include:
Taawon's Isnad Programme is a collective fundraising campaign supporting university students in Gaza to continue their education.
Beyond buildings, universities require essential equipment and the rehabilitation of systems required for institutional function.
Priority needs include:
Gaza's universities must remain knowledge producing institutions and global academic partners.
Priority needs include:
Partnerships should strengthen Gaza's universities as institutions, including during displacement and recovery.
Priority needs include:
Effective support requires coordination across the sector and alignment with Gaza university priorities.
Priority needs include:
Mobility support should protect degree progression and institutional continuity, and be coordinated through Gaza universities wherever possible.
Priority needs include:
