UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says over 100,000 students have enrolled in schools across the Gaza Strip since start of the new academic year.
Dujarric made the announcement during a news conference on Thursday, four days after schools reopened in Gaza on February 23 after an extended shutdown caused by Israel's genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian territory.
“To date, 165 public schools have reopened in Gaza. For most students, this will be their first time returning to in-person learning in 16 months,” he said.
Palestinian officials say 85 percent of schools in Gaza have been rendered inoperable because of the Israeli aggression.
At least 12,800 students, as well as 800 teachers and administrative staff, were killed in the Israeli offensive that also destroyed 1,166 educational centers and inflicted damage worth more than $2 billion on the educational sector, according to Gaza's Government Media Office.
Israel launched its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,365 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.
Israel accepted Hamas’ longstanding negotiation terms under a Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19.
West Bank situation 'deeply alarming'
Also in his remarks, Dujarric described as “deeply alarming” the situation across the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military has been conducting violent raids in several towns and refugee camps.
The Israeli attacks "continued in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, leading to further casualties and displacement, and hindering access to health care, water, electricity and other critical services," he said.
"We once again stress that international law must be respected and civilians must be protected."
The Israeli military launched its West Bank offensive on January 21, claiming that it was targeting resistance fighters of the Jenin Battalion.
At least 927 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by the occupation forces and illegal settlers across the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the Gaza genocide.
