UN Warns of a “Lost Generation” Amid Ongoing Conflict

In Gaza, classrooms have become shelters, and school bags have been replaced by suitcases filled with clothes. As the war enters its third year, nearly 660,000 children remain out of school, according to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees.

Children like Diana, displaced from Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood, now live in overcrowded school corridors. “We no longer play or learn,” she told UN News. “We eat and sleep inside the school.”

The trauma runs deep. Misk, who lost her father in the conflict, shared: “Two years of our lives were wasted. Instead of buying pens, we search for food and water.”

UNRWA warns that Gaza’s youth face profound psychological distress and educational deprivation. Over 90% of schools have been damaged or destroyed, and rebuilding will require immense resources.

In the West Bank, violence and displacement have silenced classrooms in refugee camps like Jenin and Tulkarm. For the first time, UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem were forcibly closed, affecting hundreds of students.

UNRWA’s Roland Friedrich called the crisis a violation of children’s right to education and a breach of international obligations. “This war is a war on children,” the agency stated. “It must end.”