A/HRC/10/22 page 19 63. The material damages caused by the recent hostilities, the border closures resulting in the restricted entry of medical supplies and equipment and the denial of access to health care outside the borders of Gaza constitute grave violations of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. E. Special Rapporteur on the right to education 64. The blockade on Gaza imposed in June 2007 and the resulting restrictions on movement and goods have resulted in serious violations of the right to education, which was further exacerbated by the Israeli offensive on Gaza that began on 27 December 2008. Consequently, educational facilities have suffered extensive damage and destruction, their repair and reconstruction has been obstructed and students have experienced significant psychosocial distress, all of which pose great challenges to the creation of an environment conducive to the realization of the right to education. 65. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education received numerous reports of Israeli strikes on schools in Gaza, leading to major damage to 7 public schools and partial damage to an additional 236 schools (public, private and kindergarten) and to 36 UNRWA schools.49 Israeli shells are reported to have hit two UNRWA schools and landed close to another, al-Fakhura school in Jabaliya refugee camp, which were sheltering displaced families. According to Save the Children Alliance and UNICEF, these incidents resulted in the killing of 47 people, including 15 children. On 17 January, the American International School of Gaza near the northern town of Beit Lahiya was destroyed by aerial bombing, leaving its 220 students without a place to continue their schooling. Warplanes also hit the science and engineering laboratories of the Islamic University in Gaza City, the territory’s oldest and biggest facility for higher education, affecting over 20,000 students.50 66. The Special Rapporteur deplores the targeting of schools during wartime, an act that provided the schools are not military objectives - is explicitly prohibited under customary international law,51 and notes that such an attack has been qualified as a war crime by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which has been ratified by 108 States. 67. As often occurs during emergencies, educational activities ceased during the weeks of heavy bombing and ground fire and the pervasive insecurity across the Gaza Strip, causing 540,000 students of all educational levels to miss almost one month of classes.26 49 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , Rapid Needs Assessment Report (Education Cluster), 30 January 2009. 50 51 Associated Press, “Israel-Hamas war deals blow to schools in Gaza”, 3 February 2009. The targeting of civilian objects such as schools is prohibited by the general principle of distinction between civilian objects and military objectives (see section II); in addition, customary law prescribes that special care must be taken in military operations to avoid damage to buildings dedicated to education. ICRC study, rule 38.