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STORY: UN / OPT UPDATE
TRT: 2:32
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 04 AUGUST 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
04 AUGUST 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warn that Gaza remains unsafe for civilians, as shootings and other military attacks continue, including in places where children are trying to learn. Today in Gaza City, our partners reported that a sixth-grade student was taken to the hospital after being hit by a bullet and injured in a tented classroom. And yesterday, farther north in Beit Lahia, Israeli forces reportedly demolished homes, as well as the last remaining school in what was previously a four-school compound.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“According to our partners, last week, Israeli forces had already advanced towards the area, which is between the agreed deployment line known as the ‘Yellow Line’ and the Israeli ‘Orange’ coordination line, which marks areas where restrictions apply on the movement of humanitarian staff. At the time, troops destroyed the tents of nearly a dozen families sheltering in the schoolyard and placed new cement blocks nearby, marking a further expansion of areas where Israeli authorities have imposed access restrictions. Our humanitarian partners rapidly mobilized support for people who were displaced. We stress that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and should not be targeted. Learning spaces must remain safe and protected environments for both students and teachers.”
6. Med shot, reporter asking question
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Today in the West Bank, our partners tell us that Israeli authorities demolished parts of a school in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron, where more than 1,000 Palestinian residents are under pressure to leave. Across the West Bank, more than 80 Palestinian schools are currently subject to demolition or related orders. So far this year, our education partners have reached more than 60,000 students in the West Bank through remedial and catch-up learning programmes. They rehabilitated 30 schools; provided transportation assistance and other protective measures to more than 2,600 students and education personnel in high-risk areas; and they delivered education-specific cash assistance, psychosocial support and legal aid. Still, funding remains critically low, with just over 10 per cent of the funding required for education support secured this year.”
8. Wide shot, press briefing room
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that Gaza “remains unsafe for civilians, as shootings and other military attacks continue, including in places where children are trying to learn,” a UN spokesperson said.
Speaking to reporters, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said today (4 Aug) in Gaza City, UN partners reported that “a sixth-grade student was taken to the hospital after being hit by a bullet and injured in a tented classroom.” Andon Monday (3 Aug), “farther north in Beit Lahia, Israeli forces reportedly demolished homes, as well as the last remaining school in what was previously a four-school compound.”
Haq continued, “according to our partners, last week, Israeli forces had already advanced towards the area, which is between the agreed deployment line known as the ‘Yellow Line’ and the Israeli ‘Orange’ coordination line, which marks areas where restrictions apply on the movement of humanitarian staff.”
He added, “at the time, troops destroyed the tents of nearly a dozen families sheltering in the schoolyard and placed new cement blocks nearby, marking a further expansion of areas where Israeli authorities have imposed access restrictions.”
The UN humanitarian partners “rapidly mobilized support for people who were displaced.”
The Deputy Spokesperson stressed, “under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and should not be targeted. Learning spaces must remain safe and protected environments for both students and teachers.”
On West Bank, UN partners said that “Israeli authorities demolished parts of a school in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron, where more than 1,000 Palestinian residents are under pressure to leave,” Haq said.
He continued, “across the West Bank, more than 80 Palestinian schools are currently subject to demolition or related orders.”
The Deputy Spokesperson highlighted, “so far this year, our education partners have reached more than 60,000 students in the West Bank through remedial and catch-up learning programmes. They rehabilitated 30 schools; provided transportation assistance and other protective measures to more than 2,600 students and education personnel in high-risk areas; and they delivered education-specific cash assistance, psychosocial support and legal aid.”
"Still, funding remains critically low, with just over 10 per cent of the funding required for education support secured this year,” Haq emphasized.
