\n
<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/strong>Four schools hit in the last four days. Since the war began, two thirds of UNRWA schools in Gaza have been hit, some were bombed out, many severely damaged,\u201d<\/strong> said Philippe Lazzarini, in a post on X.<\/p>\n In a statement posted on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had been targeting \u201cterrorist infrastructure and terrorist operatives\u201d in Gaza City.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, at least 25 people were killed after an Israeli strike near a school building\u00a0<\/strong>sheltering displaced Gazans in eastern Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to the enclave\u2019s health authorities.<\/p>\n On Saturday, another strike left at least 16 dead at an UNRWA school in Nuseirat, central Gaza, followed a day later by a hit on a school in Gaza City that was reportedly sheltering hundreds of people.<\/p>\n Further Israeli strikes on Monday were reported on or near an UNRWA school in Nuseirat,\u00a0 UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma told UN News<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is becoming commonplace; only in the past four days we’ve seen four schools come under attack,\u201d she said. Every time a school is hit \u201cdozens of people pay the price.\u201d<\/p>\n The UN agency \u2013 the largest humanitarian operator in Gaza – closed all of its schools when war erupted on 7 October in response to Hamas-led attacks on multiple targets in southern Israel that left some 1,250 dead and more than 250 taken hostage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve turned the vast majority of them into shelters and at some point we had one million people staying in our schools,\u201d Ms. Touma explained, adding that of the casualties from the latest school strikes, \u201cmany\u201d were women and children.<\/p>\n Since the war began, more than half of UNRWA\u2019s facilities – the vast majority of them schools – have been hit.<\/p>\n \u201cSome were completely bombed out and are out of commission\u201d, Ms. Touma continued, adding that since the war began, at least 600,000 children have seen their schools close.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the case of UNRWA most of them were used as shelters, but what this means is that if this war continues, we are on the verge of losing a whole generation of children,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer children stay out of school, the more difficult it is for them to catch up on education losses; the higher the risk that they fall prey to exploitation, including child labour, child marriage, but also recruitment into armed groups, and recruitment into the fighting.<\/strong> So it is for the sake of those children that we must have a ceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n In response to allegations that the schools were being used by Hamas fighters or affiliates, the UNRWA official insisted that no UN facility should be used for military purposes, before reiterating repeated calls by the Commissioner-General for \u201cindependent inquiries and investigations into all these very serious claims\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cCivilian infrastructure, including schools, including shelters, including other facilities like health, clinics, or hospitals, must be protected at all times, including in times of conflict,\u201d Ms. Touma insisted.<\/p>\n In a related development, the UN sexual reproduction agency, UNFPA,\u00a0warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to worsen, with \u201csevere suffering\u201d now the norm.<\/p>\n Citing Gazan health authorities, UNFPA said that nearly 38,000 Palestinians have now been killed and more than 87,000 injured<\/strong>, with food, shelter, health and livelihood resources all \u201ccritically low\u201d.<\/p>\n Across the enclave some 1.9 million people remain forcibly uprooted by the conflict \u2013 often repeatedly – and evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military.<\/p>\n Gazans live in \u201ctents, overcrowded shelters, or on the streets without basic necessities\u201d, the UN agency said, pointing to widespread feelings of hopelessness by people \u201cwith little prospect of returning home or ending the conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSevere obstacles\u201d in ensuring that humanitarian aid can reach those who need it continue to hamper the relief operation, the UNFPA situation update noted, listing \u201ccrossing point closures and bureaucratic hurdles impeding life-saving assistance\u201d.<\/p>\n Problems associated with the breakdown in law and order in Gaza has also increased theft and violence, endangering humanitarian workers and their operations, according to the UN agency.<\/p>\n In addition, doctors continue to report rising numbers of preterm and low-birth-weight babies, \u201cindicators of severe malnutrition exacerbated by stress and fear among pregnant women\u201d UNFPA said, while also highlighting the high risk of gender-based violence (GBV) faced by women and adolescent girls, \u201cparticularly those displaced, widowed, or unaccompanied\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the challenges, UNFPA has distributed essential sexual reproductive health and GBV services in Gaza and the West Bank.<\/p>\n The UN agency and partners have also established two maternal health units for emergency births, provided menstrual hygiene products to thousands of women and girls and supported mobile medical points and deployed sexual and reproductive health teams to shelters.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nUnder fire<\/strong><\/h2>\n
No safe place<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lost generation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Rising toll<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lifesaving supplies blocked<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Aid successes<\/strong><\/h2>\n