More than eight months into the Israeli war, large parts of Gaza remain in ruins amid a severe blockade on food, clean water, and medicine.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported on Sunday that the Israeli army has bombed 69% of schools sheltering displaced people within the Gaza Strip, according to Anadolu news agency.
In a statement, the agency noted that “according to the Global Education Cluster, 69% of school buildings where displaced families were seeking shelter have been directly hit or damaged.”
“This blatant disregard of humanitarian law must stop. We need a ceasefire now,” the statement added.
On Friday, the UNRWA highlighted that over 76 percent of schools in Gaza require reconstruction or significant rehabilitation to become operational again, as per the Global Education Cluster.
The Global Education Cluster, established in 2007 by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, is led globally by UNICEF and the local Child Protection Network. It functions as a joint coordination mechanism among organizations engaged in humanitarian responses within the education sector during instances of internal displacement.
Israeli Bombings Devastate Gaza City, Killing Dozens – Genocide Continues
As of June 17, the ongoing Israeli war has resulted in the complete destruction of 110 schools and universities, with 321 schools and universities partially damaged. The conflict has also claimed the lives of over 10,000 students, according to the government media office in Gaza.
Despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation for its continued offensive on Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
The Palestinian death toll from persistent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last October has exceeded 37,400, according to the Ministry of Health in the besieged enclave. Additionally, over 85,600 people have been injured in the onslaught.
More than eight months into the Israeli war, large parts of Gaza remain in ruins amid a severe blockade on food, clean water, and medicine.
Ongoing Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 37,598 Palestinians have been killed, and 86,032 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, Anadolu)
