Student falls to death after attempt to hang Palestinian flag

A Tunisian student fell to his death after attempting to hang a Palestinian flag on the building of the Higher School of Design Sciences and Technologies in Dandan in the Manouba Governorate, northern Tunisia, during a protest demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

The design school said in a statement on 7 April: “With deep sorrow and grief, we announce the death of student Fares Khaled, a first-year student at the Higher School of Design Sciences and Technologies in Dandan, Manouba Governorate, who passed away in a tragic accident while attempting to hang the Palestinian flag.”

In another statement, the institution’s administration announced the suspension of classes for three days ending on 9 April, to mourn the student’s death.

The General Union of Students of Tunisia (Union Générale des Etudiants de Tunisie, or UGET, called upon all students to declare 7 April as a ‘National Student Day against Zionism as a symbolic reminder of the heroic act of the martyr’.

The Morocco-based Organisation of the Student Renaissance, a national association open to all university students in Morocco, also paid tribute to the student, saying he embodied the youth’s connection to the Palestinian cause.

Student protests in North Africa

The student’s death has coincided with demonstrations held across Tunisia and in the rest of North Africa on the same day, in response to the Palestinian call on people around the world to stage a general strike on 7 April to put pressure on Israel to halt its war in Gaza.

The UGET led a national general strike, which included higher education institutions and universities across Tunisia.

Thousands of students protested on Avenue Habib Bourguiba in the Tunisian capital, waving Palestinian flags. In front of the French Embassy in Tunis, Montasser Salem, the president of UGET, condemned practices to intimidate protesters and called on the expulsion of ambassadors that have links with Israel.

The National Union of Mauritanian Students in Mauritania also participated in the protest to support Palestinians and their cause.

In Morocco, the secretariat of the National Union of Moroccan Students (Union Nationale des Etudiants du Maroc), which is part of Morocco’s largest Islamic movement, Al Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity), joined the demonstrations.

Some of Morocco’s student unions and other student groups joined a protest led by the Arab and Maghreb Youth Student Front, which also want to do away with attempts to normalise relations with Israel.

The students also joined the Moroccan Front to Support Palestine and Oppose Normalisation in their protest in rejection of the “killing, displacement, and starvation, of Palestinian people”.

On 8 April, the Morocco-based Organisation of the Student Renaissance and the student initiative to support the issues of the homeland and the nation also protested against the normalisation of relations with Israel and criticised “Zionist aggression” against Palestinian people.

Death and destruction in Gaza

On 3 April the estimated death toll in Gaza following Israel’s military operation stood at 50,523 (including about 9,500 women and 14,500 children) and more than 114,776 people had been injured, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

On 8 April, the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research posted a summary of the impact of Israel’s attacks on Facebook.

According to the post 1,180 members of the university community, including students and educational staff, have been killed and 5,719 injured. Also, 77 higher education buildings were completely or severely damaged in Gaza along with seven universities and colleges that were subjected to repeated raids.

Israel’s military attack was triggered by the 7 October 2024 Hamas attack on Israel called ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ during which 1,200 people were killed and around 240 hostages were seized. According to OCHA, on 3 April, an estimated 59 hostages remain in Gaza.

Operation of Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel was aimed at alleviating the 16-year blockade in the Gaza Strip, end the Israeli occupation and recognise a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital.

On 18 March, the Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza and shattered a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange plan.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war.