UNRWA warns of ‘lost generation’ as 660,000 Gaza children remain out of school

GAZA CITY (AA): The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) sounded the alarm on Saturday over the fate of education in Gaza, warning that more than 660,000 children have been deprived of schooling for a third consecutive year as Israel’s devastating war nears the two-year mark.

“The war in Gaza is a war on children and it must stop. Children must be protected at all times,” UNRWA said in a statement, cautioning that the enclave’s youth are at risk of becoming a “lost generation.”

While schools in the occupied West Bank are set to reopen on Sept. 1, Gaza’s classrooms remain shuttered.

The Palestinian Education Ministry said around 700,000 students in the enclave have seen their schooling suspended under bombardment, with more than 70,000 unable to take high school exams for two consecutive years.

According to ministry data, Israeli attacks since October 2023 have killed at least 17,000 school students and more than 1,200 university students in Gaza, while injuring tens of thousands more.

In the occupied West Bank, dozens of students have also been killed, wounded or detained by Israeli forces during the same period.

The toll has extended to teachers and academic staff. Nearly 1,000 education workers have been killed in Gaza, and thousands more injured or detained across the Palestinian territories.

Israel has killed over 63,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.