Ramallah / PNN/  

With the complete suspension of education in Gaza for nearly a year, schools and facilities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have been increasingly targeted by the Israeli military. These attacks are part of a wider assault during the ongoing war, which has affected more than 70% of UNRWA’s schools and centres that serve as shelters for displaced people.

The latest attack struck the Ja’ouni School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, resulting in the death of six UNRWA staff members, raising the total number of UNRWA personnel killed since the war began to approximately 220. These assaults represent a grave violation of international humanitarian law, according to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) Refugee Affairs Department.

Call for an International Investigation

The Refugee Affairs Department has called on the UNRWA Commissioner-General to urgently request the UN Secretary-General to form an independent inquiry committee to investigate the violations against the agency in Gaza. These attacks have led to the deaths of numerous staff members, their families, and displaced individuals, along with the systematic destruction of UNRWA’s educational, health, and service facilities. The department also condemned the continued targeting of UNRWA’s headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, and Israeli actions that obstruct the agency’s work.

Appeals for International Protection

In its statement, the Refugee Affairs Department emphasised the need for international protection for the Palestinian people, who, it said, are facing a "genocide." The department called on the international community to take a firm stance against the deliberate targeting of UNRWA and the refugee community, asserting that Israel aims to undermine the agency’s operations and spread misinformation about it, with the ultimate goal of passing laws to designate UNRWA as a terrorist organisation. Such a move would undermine the authority of the United Nations and its member states.

Education: The Struggle for Survival in Gaza

The department highlighted the importance of resuming education in Gaza, stressing that UNRWA must develop a strategy to reopen schools and ensure the continuity of education for Palestinian refugees. Education, it said, is an integral part of the struggle for survival and resilience on Palestinian land. The department commended UNRWA’s efforts to continue its "Return to Education" initiative, which aims to preserve education as a vital element in the Palestinian people's daily fight to sustain life.