Reports from Gaza say, about 300,000 Palestinian students are set to resume classes in Gaza on Saturday under the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), even as Israel’s blockade continues to prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid from entering the enclave.
UNRWA media advisor Adnan Abu Hasna said the agency has “put plans in place to resume the educational process for 300,000 Palestinian students in UNRWA,” adding that the number is likely to rise.
Around 10,000 students will attend in-person classes at schools and shelters, while most will receive remote instruction.
“It is absolutely impossible to have two years without schooling, preceded by two years of Corona,” Abu Hasna said, noting that 8,000 teachers will participate in the program.
Read Also: Thousands Of Palestinians Return Home As Gaza Ceasefire Takes Effect
Education in Gaza has been suspended since Oct. 8, 2023, following the start of Israel’s war on the enclave.
Many schools have been destroyed or converted into shelters for displaced families.
According to the Palestinian Education Ministry, Israel has destroyed 172 government schools, damaged 118 others, and hit more than 100 UNRWA-run schools since the conflict began.
The ministry said 17,711 students have been killed and 25,897 injured, while 763 education-sector employees have lost their lives.
Abu Hasna said UNRWA also plans to revitalize 22 central clinics in Gaza and continues to operate dozens of food-distribution points with thousands of staff.
However, he said that essential supplies remain blocked outside Gaza.
“Many basic necessities, including shelter materials, blankets, winter clothing, and medicines, are not being allowed into Gaza from the Israeli side, worsening the humanitarian situation,” he said, adding that 95% of Gaza’s population now depends on humanitarian aid.
He warned that hundreds of thousands of displaced people are still living in the open after returning to Gaza City following the Oct. 10 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The ceasefire agreement, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump, included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a framework for rebuilding Gaza under a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the territory largely uninhabitable. — Agencies via SG
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