UNRWA Head Says 70 Percent Of Schools Managed By Institutions In Gaza Are Destroyed

UNRWA School in Gaza is destroyed. (Twitter/@UNLazzarini)

JAKARTA - Commissioner General of the United Nations Aid and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said more than 70 percent of the institution's schools in the Gaza Strip, Palestine had been destroyed or damaged.

Not only that, most of these schools have become overcrowded shelters with hundreds of thousands of families displaced and unable to be used for education.

"More than 600,000 children there experience severe trauma, live in the rubble. They continue to miss the opportunity to study and go to school. Half of them used to study in UNRWA schools. The longer children don't go to school, the higher the risk of a generation being lost, which triggers hatred and extremism," he tweeted on social media X, quoted from WAFA September 3.

"In Gaza, more than 70 percent of our schools were destroyed or damaged. Most of our schools are now overcrowded shelters with hundreds of thousands of displaced families. These schools cannot be used for learning," he explained.

"Without a ceasefire, children tend to become victims of exploitation including child labor and recruitment into armed groups. We have seen this too often happen in conflicts around the world, lest this happen again in Gaza. Ceasefire is a victory for all: it will allow civilians to rest, the release of the hostages and the flow of basic supplies that are urgently needed, including learning," he concluded.