New York, USA – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that, for the first time in over two and a half years, it has managed to deliver school and educational supplies to the Gaza Strip, following a prolonged ban imposed by Israeli authorities on the entry of these vital necessities.
The organization stated that the aid shipments that entered the Strip in recent days included thousands of educational and recreational items, such as pencils, notebooks, and basic learning materials, as well as wooden building blocks. This move was described as a significant development in supporting the educational process amidst the worsening humanitarian crisis.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder explained that the organization delivered hundreds of boxes of school supplies and anticipates delivering approximately 2,500 additional learning kits next week, pending the necessary approvals. He added that this development represents a tangible shift after two years he described as “long and difficult” for the children of Gaza and the humanitarian organizations working there.
Elder noted that children in the sector have been subjected to an unprecedented attack on the education system, along with restrictions on the entry of basic materials such as books and pens, forcing teachers to rely on limited resources, while children continued to try to learn inside tents that often lacked lighting and basic services.
During the war, a large number of children were deprived of even the most basic education, while simultaneously facing daily hardships such as water shortages and malnutrition, amidst a dire humanitarian crisis.
UNICEF is currently working to bolster its educational support for nearly half of all school-aged children – approximately 336,000 – as education continues primarily in tents due to the widespread destruction of school buildings.
According to the latest UN assessment, based on satellite imagery, at least 97% of schools in the Gaza Strip have been damaged.
UNICEF confirmed that most of its educational support will focus on the central and southern areas of the Strip, given the difficulty of operating in the north, which has suffered extensive destruction in recent months.
