Gaza: A group of United Nations experts on Tuesday strongly condemned the repeated attacks by Israeli occupation forces on schools operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, as well as the storming of UN schools in East Jerusalem. "UN satellite-based assessments confirm that 95 percent of schools in Gaza have been damaged to an extent that renders them unfit for use," they noted in a joint statement issued from Geneva.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the experts reported that nearly three-quarters of school buildings in Gaza have been directly targeted since October 2023, including one-third of UNRWA schools. They added that at least 300 UN personnel, mostly UNRWA aid workers, have been killed. The experts underlined that these attacks represent a direct assault on the right to safe education and a violation of international law, particularly in the context of the ongoing unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.
They also reported an incident on May 7 when Israeli forces bombed an UNRWA school sheltering 2,000 displaced people in Gaza twice in the same day, resulting in the killing of at least 30 civilians, including women and children. The experts highlighted the impact on Palestinian children's learning, stating that their education has been disrupted for over 19 months, and once hostilities cease, they will have no schools to return to. They pointed out that girls are disproportionately affected by such actions, with significant long-term consequences for their education, health, and empowerment.
In East Jerusalem, the experts reported that on May 8, Israeli occupation forces raided three UNRWA schools in Shu'fat refugee camp during school hours, forcing more than 550 Palestinian children, some as young as six years old, to leave their classrooms and detained one UNRWA staff member. As a result, all UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem were closed at the end of the school day. The experts stressed that these actions represent a violation of the sanctity of United Nations facilities and a grave breach of the right to education.
The UN experts called on the Israeli occupying power to comply fully with international humanitarian law and human rights law, end its occupation of Palestinian territory, dismantle settlements, provide reparations to victims, facilitate the return of displaced persons, and ensure the delivery of necessary humanitarian aid. They further urged the international community to take immediate action to ensure respect for the rights of Palestinian children to life and education and to hold perpetrators of grave violations accountable.
The joint statement was signed by more than 20 UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the right to education Farida Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied Francesca Albanese, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri.