UNICEF decries 4 Gaza school strikes in 24 hours

By Phoebe Martel 

As Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza continues, schools have been subject to devastating strikes.

On X Thursday morning, UNICEF said that four Gazan schools have been struck in the past 24 hours, with several children reported killed.

In its post, the United Nations Children’s Fund condemned the use of schools as military targets, saying that the “violence affecting children must end.” 

Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the Israeli military has conducted airstrikes on over 500 primary schools, universities and educational centers for refugee children. The Israel Defense Forces claim that these schools house control centers for Hamas fighters, but they also provide shelter to civilians displaced by bombing across the Gaza Strip.

One of the schools bombed Wednesday night was the Al-Amal Orphan Society in Gaza City. At least 17 casualties were reported at another school serving as a shelter for Palestinian families.

Repeated school strikes

According to previous UNICEF statements, the IDF have carried out so-called ‘precision attacks’ on over half of Gazan schools, including several UN-operated institutes. All twelve universities in the Gaza Strip are damaged and destroyed.

In August, an Israeli strike on the Al-Tabaeen School in eastern Gaza City killed over 100 people, most of them families taking refuge. A preliminary investigation by the Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva-based human rights monitor found no evidence of military infrastructure at the Tabaaen School.

The UN has repeatedly decried the school strikes and called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire as children casualty estimates climb to 15,000. World leaders, including Pope Francis, have also denounced the attacks.

On the flight back from his Singapore visit, the Pope called the “presumption” of Hamas' presence as a justification for bombing schools “ugly.” He continues to appeal for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, where 104 children have been killed since the war began.

Sources: Middle East Monitor, Reuters, UNICEF