Geneva - Saba:
UN experts have condemned the recent attacks on UNRWA schools in Gaza and the Israeli occupation forces' storming and forcible closure of its schools in occupied al-Quds.
The UN experts said in a statement on Tuesday that "attacks on schools are an assault on children, an assault on the right to a safe education, and a flagrant violation of international law, particularly in the context of an illegal occupation."
Nearly three-quarters of school buildings in Gaza have been bombed by Israeli airstrikes since October 2023, including about a third of UNRWA schools, rendering the vast majority unusable.
The experts stressed that this destruction demonstrates the devastating and lasting impact on the education of an entire generation of Palestinian children, whose education has already been disrupted for more than 19 months, and once hostilities cease, they will have no schools to return to.
They continued: "All children are subjected to armed evacuation, with irreversible trauma that requires years of psychosocial support, which is unavailable to them. At least 300 UN staff members, most of them UNRWA aid workers, have been killed."
The experts emphasized that "Israel has no authority to carry out these actions, while the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is obligated to dismantle its occupation."
They added: "At the same time, it is bound by international humanitarian law, which protects schools from direct attacks, especially in the absence of hostilities in the area justifying evacuation."
The experts also emphasized that "targeted attacks against civilians and civilian objects are absolutely prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. In the current context, such actions may amount to collective punishment."
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