Israeli Fire Wounds Three in Gaza as UNRWA Says 90% of Schools Destroyed

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Despite the ceasefire remaining officially in force, Israeli violations and the collapse of basic living conditions continue to endanger civilians across the Gaza Strip, where displacement camps remain exposed and core civilian infrastructure, especially education, is being erased.

Key Developments

• Israeli fire wounded three Palestinians, including two children, near tents housing displaced people south of Khan Younis.

• The shooting occurred outside the Israeli-declared deployment boundary, highlighting continued violations after the ceasefire.

• A fire inside a displacement tent in Deir al-Balah killed two children and injured two others.

• UNRWA says about 90% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed.

• Several UNRWA schools were recently demolished, while surviving facilities continue to function mainly as shelters.

Israeli Fire near Displacement Tents

Three Palestinians, a woman and two children, were wounded when Israeli military vehicles opened fire toward tents sheltering displaced families in the al-Maslakh area south of Khan Yunis, the Anadolu News Agency reported on Thursday.

Medical sources said the injured were transferred to Nasser Hospital with moderate wounds.

The incident occurred outside the Israeli-declared ‘Yellow Line” deployment zone, indicating that civilians in displacement camps remain exposed to Israeli fire despite the ceasefire.

Deadly Fire

In a separate incident, Anadolu reported that a fire broke out inside a tent housing displaced Palestinians in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Two children were killed, a 16-year-old girl and her two-year-old sibling, while their mother and another child were injured.

The incident reflects the dangerous living conditions facing displaced families, who rely on flammable materials, improvised heating and overcrowded tents after the widespread destruction of homes across Gaza.

UNRWA: Gaza’s Education System nearly Destroyed

UNRWA said in a statement that approximately 90% of school buildings across the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed, Al-Jazeera reported.

According to the report, the agency said many schools that remain standing are no longer functioning as educational institutions but as shelters for displaced families.

UNRWA also reported that eight of its schools have been demolished since January, including a school in Jabaliya that was blown up using explosives.

At the same time, the agency noted limited service restoration efforts, including reopening the Bureij health center earlier this month.

(PC, AJA, Anadolu, UNRWA)