Israel Has Damaged Or Destroyed 85 Percent Of Schools In Gaza

Israel’s siege of Gaza “is destroying the present and the future of Palestinian children,” UNRWA said.

By Sharon Zhang, Truthout

In just the last 10 months of its genocide, Israel has damaged or destroyed nearly 9 out of 10 schools in Gaza, the UN has reported.

According to assessments by the UN-backed Global Education Cluster, almost 85 percent of school buildings in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged, as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) highlighted on Friday.

“Some of these schools will need full reconstruction. The war is destroying the present and the future of Palestinian children,” the agency wrote, calling for a ceasefire.

This is an astonishing proportion of school buildings in Gaza, and is emblematic of Israel’s campaign to destroy all sense of structure and community for Palestinian children — in addition to blowing off their limbs, orphaning them, and killing them through bombs, bullets, disease and starvation.