EAA Foundation Condemns Bombing of Yaffa School in Gaza
Education Above All (EAA) Foundation deplores the bombing of Yaffa School in Al Tuffah district of Gaza, which was serving as a shelter for displaced civilians, including children and families.
The continued targeting of educational facilities and civilian shelters represents a grave violation of international humanitarian law and an intolerable attack on the right to education and life itself. Schools must never be targeted. Children must never be collateral damage.
According to the Education Cluster, over 403 schools in Gaza have been directly hit. Alarmingly, 62% of school buildings used as shelters by internally displaced persons have been directly targeted. These schools previously served approximately 435,290 students and 16,275 teachers—amounting to nearly 70% of Gaza’s student population and over 70% of its teaching workforce. In total, 564 schools, representing 95% of all schools in Gaza, have been damaged.
Education Above All Foundation urgently calls for an immediate ceasefire and demands that all parties to the conflict uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. All necessary measures must be taken to safeguard schools used for educational purposes and ensure they remain safe zones for children.
The right of every child to education is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and further reinforced during times of emergency by UN Security Council Resolution 2601. This global consensus underscores the responsibility of all parties to armed conflict to protect education and preserve schools as safe, protected spaces.
EAA Foundation reiterates its urgent call for the protection of children and schools. They are not — and must never become — targets of war.
Every year, on the observance of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack on 9 September, EAA Foundation with its partners, civil society and youth calls attention to the importance of protection of education in conflict and collective global action to protect students, teachers, schools and universities.
For more information, contact EAA Media Specialists.
