UNICEF: Israel carried out 2 strikes a day on shelter schools on Gaza in October

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners have recorded at least 64 attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation army against schools housing displaced Palestinian families in the besieged Gaza Strip during the month of October, with at least 128 Palestinians killed, many of them children. This amounts to two strikes a day.

In a statement issued on Friday, the UN agency said the Israeli attacks on schools in October, brings the overall number of such attacks since the start of Israel’s devastating war on the besieged enclave to 226, which also led to the displacement of over one million children.

“Schools should never be on the frontlines of war, and children should never be indiscriminately attacked while seeking shelter,” the report quoted UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, saying.

“The horrors we are seeing in Gaza are setting a dark precedent for humanity, one where children are hit with bombs at record numbers while looking for safety inside classrooms. Trauma and loss have become their daily norm” she added.

According to the latest estimates, nearly half of the attacks recorded in October occurred in northern Gaza, where Israel intensified its bombing campaign in October, causing mass displacement and preventing sufficient aid from reaching civilians, pushing children to the brink.

The report noted that in addition to serving as shelters to displaced families, some of the schools also provide malnutrition treatment points for those in need.

Schools are protected areas under international humanitarian law, yet more than 95 per cent of Gaza’s schools have been partially or completely destroyed since October 2023, the report said. It added that 87 per cent of the schools will require extensive reconstruction to restore their ability to function.

Watch: Israeli soldiers dance in Gaza school after evicting families

The report noted that at least 658,000 school-aged children in Gaza have been deprived from formal learning activities, casting a shadow of uncertainty on their future; their lives overwhelmed by mental health distress, as well as increased risk of child labour and child marriage.

“Attacks against schools, whether they are serving as places of education or shelter for the displaced, are a grave violation against children,” it said.

UNICEF has reiterated its call to all parties to end grave violations against children, and to end attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in line with international law.

It also reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of all children and civilian infrastructure in Gaza.

“Every day this violence continues, more lives are shattered, and more futures are lost,” said Russell.

“Parties to the conflict must respect International Humanitarian Law and safeguard schools and civilian spaces. Children must be shielded from harm, and their right to education must be upheld, even amidst conflict.”