NEW YORK, (PIC)
The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Monday that a ceasefire in Gaza would be a crucial first step to get children back on track to education.
“In Gaza, amidst the humanitarian catastrophe, our teams have been providing back-to-learning sessions over the past four months for thousands of displaced children whose formal education was interrupted in October 2023,” Lazzarini said in a post on X.
“Through recreational activities, psychological support, and basic literacy and numeracy exercises, we are trying in the most desperate circumstances to do what we can to ensure that these children do not become a lost generation,” he added.
The UNRWA Commissioner-General explained that “the escalation in Lebanon has disrupted the start of the school year for young Palestine refugees to whom UNRWA has been providing education for decades.”
He stressed that “in the wake of the ceasefire, our teachers have worked tirelessly to get their classrooms back on track.”
The Israeli Knesset had approved in the second and third readings, on Monday, October 28, a decision to ban UNRWA from operating in areas under “Israeli sovereignty.”
The law also stipulates that “UNRWA shall not operate any representative office, provide any service, or carry out any activity, directly or indirectly, in the territory of the State of Israel.”
On November 4, Israel informed the United Nations of the cancellation of the agreement on UNRWA’s work, which means banning its activities if the decision comes into effect within three months.
