UNICEF has for the first time in two-and-a-half years delivered thousands of school kits into Gaza, including pencils, exercise books and play materials, after previous restrictions by Israeli authorities. UNICEF says hundreds of "school‑in‑a‑carton" kits have arrived and 2,500 more are approved and expected next week. The agency plans to scale up education support for about 336,000 school‑age children, mainly through tents because nearly all schools suffered damage. UNICEF and U.N. assessments also highlight severe humanitarian needs and heavy civilian losses.
UNICEF Delivers Thousands Of School Kits Into Gaza After 2½ Years Of Restrictions
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinian children look out of a shelter in a tent camp on a rainy day in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 11, 2025. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer/File Photo
Geneva, Jan 27 (Reuters) — For the first time in two-and-a-half years, UNICEF said on Tuesday it has succeeded in delivering thousands of school kits containing pencils, exercise books and wooden play cubes into the Gaza Strip after those shipments were previously blocked by Israeli authorities.
UNICEF said the recent deliveries include recreational packs and hundreds of "school‑in‑a‑carton" kits, and that another 2,500 school kits have been approved and are expected to enter the enclave next week.
"We have now, in the last days, got in thousands of recreational kits, hundreds of school‑in‑a‑carton kits. We're looking at getting 2,500 more school kits in, in the next week, because they've been approved," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said.
A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli military unit that oversees aid flows into Gaza, confirmed it recently allowed UNICEF to bring in learning kits but said textbooks remain barred. COGAT told Reuters that learning kits had been permitted into Gaza several times during the war, without providing a full timeline.
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinian students gather outside a tent near the Israeli-designated "yellow line" in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, January 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
Children in Gaza have endured severe disruption to education and routine supplies, with teachers improvising amid shortages of basic materials and many children attempting to study at night in tents without lighting. UNICEF and other agencies warn that the crisis has been accompanied by widespread malnutrition and acute humanitarian needs.
Teaching In Tents
UNICEF is scaling up education programmes to reach roughly half of Gaza's school‑age children — about 336,000 youngsters — providing learning support primarily in temporary learning spaces, many of them tents, because a large proportion of school buildings are unusable.
According to the U.N.'s most recent satellite assessment in July, at least 97% of schools in Gaza sustained some level of damage. UNICEF said most supported learning spaces will be in central and southern areas of the enclave, as access and safety remain highly constrained in the north.
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinian children sheltering at a tent camp, play next to tents, in Gaza City, January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
The wider conflict began after Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023. Israeli tallies say that assault killed about 1,200 people. Gaza health authorities report that Israel's subsequent offensive has killed 71,000 Palestinians. UNICEF cited official figures indicating more than 20,000 children were reported killed in Gaza, including 110 children cited since the October 10 ceasefire last year.
"It's been a long two years for children and for organizations like UNICEF to try and do that education without those materials. It looks like we're finally seeing a real change," Elder added.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne
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