Displaced children in Gaza use schools for shelter, not learning

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Luay Qasim, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, comes out of a classroom at a UN school in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, wearing tattered clothes, carrying an empty plastic bottle attempting to fill it with potable water.

Luay is supposed to be in class, following his teachers. But he has now become a displaced person residing in the school. His primary concern is assisting his family to secure water and food.

The displacement is accompanied by severe living conditions of Palestinian families who have left their homes, carrying only basic necessities. They are facing the effects of a destructive war launched by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, when the Palestinian group, Hamas, conducted a surprise attack against Israel.

With the onset of the war, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) opened several of its schools and related buildings to serve as shelters for displaced persons from areas threatened by Israeli military targeting.

Around 700,000 victims are currently living in approximately 150 UNRWA buildings across the Gaza Strip, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said Thursday.

Luay is one of hundreds of thousands of students deprived of school by Israel’s offensives during the current academic year, as the new school year began Aug. 26.

The Israeli army has killed thousands of children in intense airstrikes in various areas of Gaza, and students will not return to school after the war ends in the Strip.

Israel "kills a child in Gaza every 10 minutes,'' Salama Marouf, head of the Media Office in Gaza, said on Nov. 4.

Children represent 47% of the population in the Gaza Strip, which has 2.3 million residents, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

- Violation of the right to education

"The paradox today is strange. The child who is supposed to be in school at this time getting education, is now in schools that have been transformed into shelters to protect him from bombing,'' Yamen al-Madhoun, coordinator of the Field Research Unit at Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, told Anadolu.

But al-Madhoun said the schools were also targeted directly and indirectly by Israeli airstrikes, resulting in the deaths of displaced persons, including children.

“Demanding the world to secure the right to live has now limited to the most basic rights, whether for children or Palestinians in Gaza in general,” said al-Madhoun.

"Children are subjected to systematic killings, according to announcements by UN institutions specializing in children’s rights, which have confirmed that 70% of the casualties in Israeli airstrikes are children and women," he said.

"Educational institutions were also struck by Israeli bombardment," Marouf said at a news conference Wednesday. "The number of schools damaged by the bombing has reached 238 schools, while around 60 schools have been taken out of service.''

Madhoun pointed out that children are the most vulnerable group in society, and therefore, they are at the greatest risk from the war and the imposed siege on the Gaza Strip.

Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has cut water, food, medicines, electricity and fuel to the residents of Gaza.

The 2.3 million residents are fundamentally suffering from extreme conditions due to the ongoing Israeli blockade since 2006.

"Children, aside from direct violations such as bombing, killing, and injuries, are also besieged, deprived of food and clean water," said Al-Madhoun.

He condemned "Israel's continued violations against children in Gaza Strip," and said Israel "completely disregards all international laws and puts children and their families in extremely difficult situations."

Al-Madhoun also called for "opening the crossings and the delivery of humanitarian aid, especially those necessary for children," emphasizing the need to "hold accountable anyone who has committed crimes against civilians and children in the Gaza Strip."

On Friday evening, Israeli aircraft intensified their attacks against hospitals in the Gaza Strip. They continued their raids in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa Hospital, Indonesian Hospital, Al-Awda Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital and Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip – including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship – since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,200, according to official figures.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara