“In the past 24 hours alone, four UNRWA shelters were damaged in the Gaza Strip. “Today, a school-turned shelter was damaged at the Jabalia Refugee Camp, the largest in the….
“In the past 24 hours alone, four UNRWA shelters were damaged in the Gaza Strip.
“Today, a school-turned shelter was damaged at the Jabalia Refugee Camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing at least 20 people and injuring five. This comes after two days of heavy bombardments in the area. Earlier today, another school at Beach Refugee Camp was also damaged, with one child reportedly killed. Both locations are in the north of the Gaza Strip.
“Further south, two schools-turned-shelters in the Al Bureij Refugee Camp were hit. Two people were reportedly killed and 31 injured.
“According to the most recent UNRWA estimates, these shelters hosted nearly 20,000 combined.
“Since the start of the war on 7 October, nearly 50 UNRWA buildings and assets have been impacted, with some being directly hit. Like today’s, this includes UNRWA buildings used as shelters where UNRWA is currently hosting around 700,000 people. Twenty-five of these shelters are in northern Gaza, hosting 112,000 people.
“Across the Gaza Strip, these shelters should be a safe haven, under the flag of the United Nations. International humanitarian law leaves no doubt that civilians and civilian facilities must be protected.
“To date, 72 UNRWA colleagues have been killed in Gaza since the war began, often with their families. Overnight, we lost Mai, a bright software developer in her mid-20s with physical disabilities. She was displaced from her home and killed in the Jabalia Refugee Camp with members of her family.
“How many more? How much more grief and suffering? A humanitarian ceasefire is overdue for the sake of humanity”.
Background Information:
UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.
UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.