Over 16,000 people are living in 1 school in central Gaza: UN refugee agency

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) said Thursday that more than 16,000 displaced Palestinians are living in dire conditions in one of its schools in Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza.

The agency shared an image of the school on X.

“Families are living in classrooms, hallways and makeshift shelters built with plastic,” it said.

The agency described living conditions in the school as dire with scarce resources, insufficient sanitation facilities and very limited supplies.

UNRWA also revealed that in the past two days, more than 32,000 people have fled the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

“Families look for safety, but damage and destruction are their only horizon in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

“No place is safe from endless bombardment,” UNRWA said, highlighting the pervasive danger faced by civilians.

“People forced to leave everything behind; their lives at risk every day,” it added.

The Israeli army began its ground offensive on Rafah on May 6. Around 1.5 million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge there, with UNRWA saying that more than 800,000 have fled the city since the start of the attack.

Rafah's vital border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel seized the Gazan side when it began its Rafah invasion.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,240 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,777 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in Rafah.