Sam Rose, director of planning for UNRWA, says the fact that approximately 39,000 students are unable to sit the territory’s General Secondary Examinations (known as the Tawjihi) is “poignant” and “sad”, Al Jazeera reports.

“It’s yet another layer of sadness that the population has gone through,” he said, adding that the act of preparing for and taking these exams, which were due to start today, was a “right of passage”.

“More than half a million who’ve been deprived of education for more than eight months, but I do agree it’s important that we focus today on those who aren’t sitting able to sit their exams,” he said.

Rose added that there are no facilities in Gaza capable of hosting students for the exams.

“We’ve [UNRWA] got about 300 schools in Gaza. Almost two-thirds of them have been damaged or destroyed,” he said, adding that the schools that haven’t been destroyed are being used to shelter displaced people.

“Unfortunately, these places, as we know, are not always safe. Five hundred people to date have been killed inside UNRWA schools.”