Gaza remains unsafe for civilians as Israeli attacks continue, including on schools and canvas classrooms, despite the October Israel-Hamas ceasefire that ended two years of war, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Tuesday.
Key points
- In Gaza City, Israeli forces shot at a tented classroom on Tuesday, hitting a Palestinian sixth grader
- In Beit Lahia, Israeli troops reportedly demolished homes and the last remaining school in a compound on Monday
- In the West Bank, Israeli authorities demolished parts of a school in southern Hebron where more than 1,000 Palestinian residents shetering there face pressure to leave
"Today in Gaza City, our partners reported that a sixth-grade student was taken to the hospital after being hit by a bullet and injured in a tented classroom," UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said, highlighting a spate of school shootings and attacks in Occupied Palestinian Territory, from Gaza to the West Bank.
"We stress that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and should not be targeted," he said.
"Learning spaces must remain safe and protected environments for both students and teachers."
Homes, school razed
Following a war that left most of Gaza damaged or destroyed, UN partners are reporting fresh attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Mr. Haq said humanitarian partners had already mobilised support for those displaced after Israeli forces reportedly demolished homes and the last remaining school in what was previously a four-school compound in Beit Lahia as well as tents sheltering nearly a dozen families.
Israeli troops also placed new cement blocks nearby, marking a further expansion of restricted areas beyond the terms of the October ceasefire.
Since then, Israeli attacks have led to 1,209 fatalities and 3,943 injuries in Gaza.
West Bank demolitions
Across the occupied West Bank meanwhile, more than 80 Palestinian schools are currently subject to demolition or related orders, the UN Deputy Spokesperson said.
Israeli authorities demolished parts of a school in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron, where more than 1,000 Palestinian residents are under pressure to leave, he said.
"So far this year, our education partners have reached more than 60,000 students in the West Bank through remedial and catch-up learning programmes," Mr. Haq said.
Efforts have rehabilitated 30 schools, provided transportation assistance and other protective measures to more than 2,600 students and education personnel in high-risk areas and delivered education-specific cash assistance, psychosocial support and legal aid, Mr. Haq said.
He emphasised that funding remains critically low.
