The UN on Tuesday warned that strikes on civilian infrastructure, including on active classrooms and school buildings, are endangering civilians in Gaza and putting humanitarian efforts to educate children under immense pressure.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), military attacks and strikes are persisting across Gaza, particularly in classroom settings “where children are trying to learn.” OCHA highlighted that “more than 80 Palestinian schools [across the West Bank] are currently subject to demolition or related orders.”
OCHA’s humanitarian partners reported that a “sixth-grade student was hit with a bullet … in a tented classroom” in Gaza City on Tuesday. The remains of a school compound were reportedly demolished in Beit Lahia by Israeli forces, and parts of a school in the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta region were also demolished. Additionally, tents of nearly a dozen families, who were “sheltering in a schoolyard,” were destroyed.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq stressed that international law prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. He warned that “learning spaces must remain safe and protected environments for both students and teachers.” Haq also commented on school rehabilitation efforts in Gaza, namely that while efforts have resulted in the rehabilitation of 30 schools, “funding remains critically low.”
In April, the UN and European Union assessed that the damage inflicted on Gaza necessitates an estimated $71.4 billion to assist its recovery over the next decade. The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment stated that “the scale and extent of deprivation across living conditions, livelihoods/income, food security, gender equality, and social inclusion, have pushed back human development in the Gaza strip by 77 years.”
Attacks on schools and hospitals during armed conflict are prohibited under international humanitarian law and are listed as one of the UN’s six grave violations against children during armed conflict.
The Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 prohibits the harming of and intentional targeting of civilians, and protections also extend to civilian property.
The UN also expressed concern around reports of Israeli forces installing cement blocks where civilians previously sheltered, which it warned marked an “expansion of restricted areas beyond the terms” of the October 2025 ceasefire. Article 15 of the Fourth Geneva Convention outlines that civilians must have neutralized zones for shelter.
