UNRWA: 12 facilities in Gaza, including schools and clinics, damaged by Israeli strikes

GAZA, Sept. 23 (YPA) – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed on Tuesday that 12 of its facilities in Gaza City were directly or indirectly hit between September 11 and 16.

UNRWA added on its official website that among the targeted facilities were nine schools and two health centers, which sheltered more than 11,000 displaced persons.

The agency noted that its activities in Gaza City have significantly decreased due to the deteriorating security situation.

UNRWA’s only health center in northern Wadi Gaza a, located in Al-Shati refugee camp, was forced to suspend operations on September 13 due to intensified attacks and damage sustained during the raids.

The agency stated that the massive destruction to the city’s infrastructure, coupled with the severe disruption to humanitarian operations and access restrictions, severely impede the last remaining lifelines for civilians in Gaza City.

On September 16, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel committed genocide, stating that Israel prevented trusted aid agencies (including UNRWA) from delivering essential and life-saving assistance, with the aim of “physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza through harsh living conditions.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that nearly half of the more than 246,800 displacements recorded since mid-August occurred in the past week alone, with increasing reports of displaced families sleeping on the streets or in makeshift tents, struggling to survive.

UNRWA noted that Israeli forces have tightened movement and access restrictions in the West Bank, including the installation of new road gates to control the movement of Palestinians in and out of communities across the region.

@E.Y.M