UNICEF: Over half of Gaza's schools bombed by Israel

More than 50 per cent of the schools housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza have been bombed by Israeli occupation forces, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said, raising urgent concerns over the safety of schools and shelters in the Strip.

In a statement issued on Saturday, UNICEF condemned the Israeli army’s bombing of Al-Tabi’in School, which resulted in over 100 deaths and dozens of injuries. It described the attack as “horrifying”, noting that it targeted a place where children and families believed they were safe.

“Horrific reports of another attack this morning on a school in Gaza sheltering displaced people, with children reportedly killed and injured in a place they thought was safe,” UNICEF said in a statement on X.

The organisation emphasised the need to protect schools and shelters, declaring: “Schools and shelters must not be attacked. Children need to be safe.”

In the last 10 months, more than 50% of schools used as shelters in Gaza have been directly hit, with devastating consequences for children and families.

Schools and shelters must not be attacked. Children need to be safe.

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 10, 2024

UNICEF also highlighted that over the past ten months, more than half of the schools used as shelters in Gaza have been directly bombed, resulting in severe consequences for children and families.

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Early on Saturday, Israeli forces carried out a deadly attack on Gaza, killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring dozens more. The attack targeted displaced persons during dawn prayers inside the Al-Tabi’in School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The Israeli occupation army claimed it killed 19 fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad during the attack, but the groups have strongly denied this.

The attack brings to six the number of shelter schools Israel has targeted over the past week.

More than 39,700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza since 7 October 2023.