Human rights group condemns escalating Israeli attacks against UN-run schools and refugee camps

12/15/2023 / By Laura Harris

Human rights organization Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has condemned escalating Israeli attacks against schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which are currently housing displaced Palestinian civilians all over the Gaza Strip.

According to the Geneva-based organization, in just one day, Israeli air and artillery strikes targeted a record five UNRWA-run schools-turned-refugee camps, including the Palestine School in the Jabalia camp in Northern Gaza, a school in the Bani Suhaila area in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, and the Al-Falah School and Salah Al-Din School, both on the outskirts of Gaza City in the north.

The attacks resulted in hundreds of casualties and a blatant violation of the legal immunity that international facilities should enjoy. Other attacks all over Gaza against civilian centers caused dozens of additional deaths.

Euro-Med Monitor reported that hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians seeking refuge from Israeli attacks are currently crowded into every UNRWA-run school in the Strip. Preliminary figures from the rights group indicate that 1.9 million out of Gaza’s 2.3 million pre-war residents are internally displaced, with 1.2 million people living in 156 UNRWA-run facilities across the Gaza Strip. (Related: Israel admits willingness to inflict “mass civilian casualties” in Gaza – GENOCIDE is the endgame.)

Since Israel initiated its actions in the Strip on Oct. 7, UNRWA has recorded over 120 attacks on its facilities, with more than 30 of them directly targeted. Several schools, such as Al-Fakhoura School in the Jabalia camp, have been attacked more than once, resulting in numerous casualties.

Israel says “genocide” is not a war crime

In a study conducted by Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), a Palestinian non-governmental organization, one child loses its life every 15 minutes due to Israeli bombings.

The toll on children has reached alarming proportions, with over 100 children losing their lives daily since the onset of Israel’s airstrikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave on Oct. 7. The total casualties in the deadliest Israeli assault in decades have surpassed 3,400 Palestinians.

“We are witnessing a genocide in real time,” a spokesperson for the DCIP said.

A research paper by Palestinian psychologist Dr. Iman Farajallah highlights the high psychological, emotional and behavioral price children pay in the aftermath of wars, wherein 95 percent of Palestinian children in Gaza suffer from psychological trauma.

For instance, families, such as that of Esra Abu Ghazzah, struggle to console their children amid the bombings, with heightened fear leading to physical symptoms like vomiting and bedwetting.

The impact on education is also evident as schools transform into makeshift shelters and the UN is currently housing approximately 400,000 displaced Gazans. The Education Above All Foundation, which provides scholarships at its Al Fakhoura school in Gaza, was destroyed, with the UNRWA reporting damage to at least four schools due to Israeli bombings.

International humanitarian law enshrined in the Geneva Conventions since 1949 explicitly protects children in war and safeguards civilians fighting an occupation. But despite the ratification of Israel in the conventions in 1951, the country does not recognize the 4th Geneva Convention protecting civilians in occupied territories, as it disputes the status of Palestine as occupied land.

Israel contends that its disproportionate use of military force in Gaza is a legitimate means to dismantle Hamas, claiming that civilian casualties, including children, do not constitute war crimes.

Learn more about Israel’s attacks against Palestinian civilians at Genocide.news.

Watch this episode of the “Health Ranger Report” as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, explains why Israel is so willing to carry out massive atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.