Education Under Attack
Around 5 am Wednesday, July 30th, another UNRWA school came under attack, from four artillery rounds fired from Israeli tanks, a UN investigation has confirmed, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more. United Nations facilities are supposed to be safe zones, with GPS coordinates supplied to the Israeli military by the United Nations in order to avoid being bombed, with the UN claiming in a statement earlier on Wednesday that it had informed Israel "17 times" that the building was being used to house internally displaced persons.
The school is located in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of Gaza, and is laying host to around 3,300 Palestinian's who had fled or lost their homes in the attacks. For many it is not the first time they have relocated and after the bombing, the school remains inhabited by those who had sought refuge as there is no other place to go.
The attack comes as the conflict enters its 23rd and most vicious day, a day which also saw a busy market place bombed from the air and land, killing at least 17 people to bring the total killed in this most recent conflict to over 1,300, a number that has more than doubled from last week. The UN estimates that of that number, 70-80% are civilians, and at least 140 of them children. A further 7000+ have been injured and more than 200,000 have had to flee their homes and are currently being housed in UN facilities.
Tuesday saw the Gaza Strip's only power plant targeted and completely destroyed with officials saying it would need at least a year to rebuild.
Al Fakhoora directoy, Farooq Burney had this to say about the targetting of another UN school and power plant, "There is no safe place in Gaza, which has become a deadly reality for innocent civilians who are trapped by the crushing blockade and have turned to the only safe place they know, the United Nations. The bombing of the only power plant in Gaza, will certainly take what is already a humanitarian disaster and make it unsurvivable by worsening the already perillous water and sewage situation for the entire population. Al Fakhoora continues its commitment to supporting education in Gaza and those suffering the effects of the blockade and reaffirms its stance with the global community to see the end of this conflict and crushing siege immediately."
Farooq Burney finished by providing an update on what Al Fakhoora students have been doing during this difficult time, "Over the last 23 days, we have seen our students share their stories and news from Gaza on a social media platform called #ImFromGaza. We encourage you to show your support to them, and help raise their voices on the international stage to help bring an end to this conflict."
Facebook: www.facebook.com/imfromgaza
Instagram and Twitter: @ImFromGaza, #ImFromGaza, #GazaUnderAttack
Photo credit: Courtesy of Fares Akram on Instagram. Photo shows an image of the power plant in Gaza burning on Tuesday afternoon.
