Why Displaced Palestinians In Gaza Are Taking Refuge In UN Schools

May 2024 · 2 minute read

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools have been operating in various regions in the Middle East — including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — since 1950, two years after the establishment of the Israeli state. Per UN News, these schools are protected under international law, but as of October 10, 2023, 18 were damaged in Israeli air raids conducted in response to the Hamas surprise attack. UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai told UN News even while not at war, around 1.7 million Palestinian refugees rely on UNRWA services to survive. The role of the agency grew all the more urgent following the October Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli war declaration, Alrifai said. She also denied claims that Hamas militants were operating out of UNRWA facilities.

In 2023, Palestinian Arifa Abu Laila told Al Jazeera, "I am a sick woman who needs treatment, and my husband is also diabetic. In every war, we come to UNRWA schools because they say it is safe. ... If we had known what would happen, we would have bought the supplies we needed, such as food, treatment, and supplies. We had to walk to the schools barefoot, without provisions such as milk and diapers for our children." The interior of a UNRWA school from 2014 is seen above.

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