Gaza: Classrooms Turned to Rubble: UNRWA Describes Realities of Life in a War Zone

He describes the school’s current condition: rubble-strewn grounds, destroyed water tanks, and classrooms reduced to wreckage, underscoring the profound trauma experienced by the staff and families seeking refuge there.

Despite these grave circumstances, UNRWA staff remains dedicated to their mission to assist those in need, even as they face their own fears – with at least 220 colleagues already killed – and concerns over the lack of effective international action to help end the fighting.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Sam Rose: This is a UNRWA school, one of many throughout the Gaza Strip. It used to accommodate hundreds of children, but since the evacuation orders from northern Gaza on October 13, 2023, it has become a collective shelter for Palestinians displaced from other areas of Gaza.

The school’s layout is typical – buildings on three sides and a courtyard in the center, which would normally serve as a gathering place for children, like a playground or basketball court. Now, however, the courtyard is filled with tents, tarpaulins, and makeshift shelters, while the classrooms are occupied by displaced families.

As you enter the school from the front, it appears unremarkable. But around the back, between the school building and the boundary wall, the school’s infrastructure is exposed – water tanks, generators, and other mechanical systems are visible amid the rubble. Three large white water tanks are destroyed, scattered in pieces.

Inside the classroom we visited, a science room, the destruction was extensive. Posters about hazardous materials, instructions on handling waste, safety goggles and pictures of famous scientists lay in ruins among debris. A large hole in the ceiling marked where a missile had struck.

School’s current condition: rubble-strewn grounds, destroyed water tanks, and classrooms reduced to wreckage…

Walking through the rest of the school, we found evidence of blood and injuries in the courtyard. Families residing there showed us bloodstains on the tarpaulins they used for shelter and recounted the horrors they had faced. Many displayed their injured children or spoke of ailments they were suffering due to poor sanitation – lice, skin infections, and other issues.

We encountered families in shock, grieving, and terrified, describing their traumatic experiences in harrowing detail. Their primary concern was security and safety. They repeatedly asked what the United Nations was doing to protect them, stressing their urgent need for food, water, and, most crucially, security.

UN News: From your conversations, is there one in particular that stands out to you?

Mr. Rose: Yes, we spent a significant amount of time with the staff, listening to their testimonies and trying to understand their experiences. We assured them that we were there to support them and emphasized that their situation was a priority, noting that the world was watching, and that the Secretary-General had issued statements.

Despite this, the staff expressed their frustration with the seeming ineffectiveness of international law, which they feel does not apply to them. One staff member confided that he no longer felt safe wearing the UN vest, so he decided not to wear his UNRWA gilet that day. He explained that wearing it made him feel like a target.

Another staff member shared that his children tried to prevent him from leaving their tent, fearing for his safety. They were so concerned that they did not want him to go to work.

All the staff members we spoke with were grieving and deeply traumatized by the ongoing horrors. The visceral nature of their suffering was evident. Yet, despite the overwhelming circumstances, they continue to show up and provide support to the community.

The sheer magnitude of what they are enduring becomes apparent when you spend time with them and hear about their personal and collective struggles. The coping mechanisms they have adopted are basic survival strategies, as both their bodies and minds are pushed to their limits by the continuous, horrific events they face.

Additionally, being accused of working for a terrorist organization during such a distressing time only deepens their sense of despair and frustration.

© UNRWA | A Gazan school in ruins.

UN News: That leads me to ask about this particular school, as we know it has been struck multiple times. From your understanding, is there a reason why this school has been targeted so frequently?

Mr. Rose: No, we do not know. We call on all parties to the conflict to respect UN facilities and that these facilities should never be used for military activities or military objectives. We have no specific information on why this school was targeted.

Regardless of that, what I witnessed was civilians, colleagues, children who had been injured and killed in in the incident must be measured against the principles that the armies signed up to.

This school courtyard was just filled as every school courtyard is – with children running around, trying to find fun and alleviate the boredom of not being at school and not having any structure to the lives.

So, any time there is any military activity in an area such as this, it is inevitable that we will see what we saw on Wednesday. The staff and the IDPs at the school, they have nowhere else to go. Some had left after the incident, and they came back because there is nowhere else for them to go.

The staff and the IDPs at the school, they have nowhere else to go…some had left after the incident, and they came back because there is nowhere else for them to go

And secondly, there are no guarantees that they would be safer anywhere else, so they just choose to remain where they are and just wait for whatever is going to happen.

UN News: In this case, did you hear from staff or see anything suggesting missiles were being fired from the site? It is been claimed this was a so-called command centre.

Mr. Rose: Not that we are aware of. I am not an investigator. We have called for an independent and full investigation, as we have for every single attack on an UNRWA installations since the start of the conflict. And these number in several hundred.

UN News: Since the start of the conflict, we have heard that deconfliction mechanisms are not working or have been ineffective. What prevents these from functioning properly? Why does it seem so difficult to establish an effective mechanism?

Mr. Rose: I do not know. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with the mechanism itself. These are part of a humanitarian notification system that the United Nations uses globally. In this specific conflict, the terms and modalities were negotiated and agreed upon by the parties involved. So, the system itself is not the issue. What we are seeing is increasing evidence that it is not being adhered to.

For example, we have staff members cleared to travel to northern Gaza, whose names are approved in advance, and who have taken the same route before without issue. Despite this, they have been subjected to dangerous assaults lasting several hours at checkpoints. All we can conclude is that the system is simply not being followed.

© UNRWA | An UNRWA staff with children at a school-turned displacement camp.

UN News: UNRWA has now lost 220 staff members. You mentioned that the staff you spoke to feel like international law does not apply to their situation. From the international community’s perspective, what can be done in practical terms to protect both humanitarian workers and the many civilians who are in harm’s way every day?

Mr. Rose: I do not know. We are running out of options here in Gaza. We do everything we can daily to continue providing services and offering some protection, partly through our presence, as well as through monitoring, reporting, and ensuring the situation remains on the world’s screens and in the minds of senior politicians and UN officials globally. It is not that people are not trying; It is just that we are not succeeding.

It is not for me to answer fully. I think this is a question for the UN Member States. We call on them to adhere to the principles they have signed up to under the UN Charter to ensure humanitarian aid and services can be provided.

We have exhausted what we can do here, but we will keep speaking out, bearing witness, and doing all we can to protect and assist Palestine refugees in line with our mandate

We have exhausted what we can do here, but we will keep speaking out, bearing witness, and doing all we can to protect and assist Palestine refugees in line with our mandate. This mandate, established by the UN General Assembly in 1949, continues to be renewed.

UN News: You are currently in Gaza and have met with staff members. After meeting them, if you had one message for them, what would it be?

Mr. Rose: My message to the staff, which I shared with them yesterday, is that we will continue to be their voice with the international community and senior UN bodies. We will bear witness to their experiences and insist on accountability, not only for this incident but for everything they have endured. We remain committed to doing everything we can to support and protect them.