| Al-Aqsa University | |
| Native Name: | جامعة الأقصى - غـزة |
| Established: | 1955 |
| President: | Dr. Kamal Shrafi[1] |
| Undergrad: | 25325 |
| Website: | www.alaqsa.edu.ps |
Al-Aqsa University (Arabic: جامعة الأقصى) is a public university with campuses in Gaza City and Khan Younis, Palestine. Established in 1955 as a teachers' institute before later expanding its curriculum, it is the first and oldest public higher education institution in the Gaza Strip. It caters for some 26,000 students and has some 1400 employees, 300 of whom are lecturers and professors.
In 2024, the university's facilities were destroyed by Israeli bombardment during the 2023 Israel–Hamas War.[2] [3]
In 1955 when Gaza was under Egyptian administration, a teachers' institute was founded to train teachers at all levels. It became the State College of Education in 1991 and was renamed Al-Aqsa University in 2001 after it was officially accredited.[4] In 2003, it joined the Union of Arab Universities and the Palestinian Higher Education Council.[5]
A new building containing 32 laboratory spaces was completed in 2022 by the company MECC.[6] Also opened was an early childhood laboratory from the Care (Erasmus+) Project.[7]
Al-Aqsa University has been subject to Israeli attacks multiple times. On 16 March 2004, the IDF besieged the neighbourhood near Al-Shohada Junction north of Al-Zaytoun and expelled its residents before razing agricultural land and demolishing buildings, including part of Al-Aqsa University.[8] During the 2008–09 winter invasion, the university's Tel al-Hawa library was damaged,[9] and a forthcoming community education facility under construction was destroyed.[10]
On 6 February 2024, it was reported that the IDF had shelled two university buildings and opened fire on displaced Palestinian civilians who had taken shelter on campus.[11] In addition, academics, such as Dr Wiesam Essa, were killed.[12] In May, the IDF Military Police opened an investigation into video footage showing IDF soldiers burning books at the Al-Aqsa University library.[13]
The 8 faculties offer bachelor's degrees with postgraduate studies on a joint program, established in 1994, between Al-Aqsa University and Ain Shams University, Egypt. The program is on hold now, but there are master's degree programs in a number of faculties in the university.