GENEVA, January 27, 2026 (WAFA) – UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said nearly two and a half years of Israeli attacks on education in Gaza have placed an entire generation at risk.
Speaking at the United Nations regular midweek press briefing in Geneva, he announced that the organization is working to expand education in the Gaza Strip as part of one of the largest emergency education efforts in the world.
Elder warned that 60 percent of school-age children in Gaza are currently not receiving in-person education, noting that 90 percent of schools have been damaged or destroyed.
He recalled that before the war, Palestinians in Gaza had some of the highest literacy rates in the world, and that education was a source of pride, resilience, and progress for generations.
The UN official said that this legacy is now under severe attack, with schools, universities, and libraries destroyed and years of progress erased. He stressed that this is not only physical destruction but an assault on the future itself.
The latest United Nations assessment based on satellite imagery from July found that at least 97 percent of schools have sustained damage.
Elder said UNICEF will expand its back-to-learning program to reach 336,000 children, stressing that the immediate priority is to return children to education without delay, often through tents in communities and community centers, as they cannot wait for permanent buildings to be constructed.
He emphasized that learning saves lives, noting that UNICEF's education centers provide safe spaces in areas that are often dangerous and insecure. He added that these centers restore access to vital information, provide routine for children, connect girls and boys to health, nutrition, and protection services, and include proper toilets and handwashing facilities.
Elder said most of the educational facilities supported by UNICEF will be located in central and southern Gaza, as access to the north remains extremely difficult due to the extensive destruction suffered in recent months.
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