In the last four days alone, four schools are said to have been affected. Israel’s army accuses Hamas of abusing the civilian facilities for its own purposes.
According to the organization, two thirds of the schools run by the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in the Gaza Strip have been hit in attacks. “Some were bombed out, many were badly damaged,” wrote UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini on Platform X. Four schools were hit in the last four days alone. According to its own information, the UN refugee agency operated 284 schools in the sealed-off coastal strip before the war.
Schools in the Gaza Strip have been transformed from safe places of education and hope for children into overcrowded emergency shelters. They are now often a place of death and misery, complained Lazzarini. “Gaza is no place for children.” He continued: “The blatant disregard for international humanitarian law must not become the new normal.”
The Foreign Office in Berlin also stated on X that it was unacceptable that civilians seeking protection in schools were being killed. “Civilians, especially children, must not be caught in the crossfire.” The repeated attacks by the Israeli army on schools must stop and be investigated “quickly,” demanded the Foreign Office.
The UNRWA chief did not provide any information about which warring party attacked the schools. When asked, the Israeli military said it was examining the report. The army has attacked schools several times because, according to the military, they are being used as bases or human shields by Hamas or other terrorist organizations in violation of international law.
Only late on Monday evening did the military announce that it had attacked several terrorists who were holed up in a school building from the air. The army says it is trying to avoid civilian casualties.
Army raid also on UNRWA headquarters
The army announced that it had also carried out an operation during the night against members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), who were said to have operated from the UNRWA headquarters. There has been no regular operation of aid workers there since the beginning of the war.
“Troops conducted a targeted raid on the building, eliminated terrorists in hand-to-hand combat and discovered large quantities of weapons in the area,” it said. The information could not initially be independently verified.
The Gaza War was triggered by the unprecedented massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
