GENEVA

UNICEF said on Tuesday it has delivered thousands of recreational and school kits into Gaza in recent days, describing the development as a potential turning point after nearly two years of restrictions on education materials.

"We have now, in the last days, gotten in thousands of recreational kits, hundreds of school-in-a-carton kits," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.

UNICEF has already delivered more than 4,400 recreational kits and 240 school-in-a-carton kits to Gaza and plans to deliver approved quantities of 2,875 recreational kits, about 2,500 school-in-a-carton kits, more than 1,000 ECD kits by the end of this week," he said, bringing total deliveries to more than 11,000 kits.

Nearly 7,000 additional kits are in the pipeline for the coming weeks, he noted.

Elder explained that the school-in-a-carton kits are designed to allow classrooms to function immediately and include writing materials, exercise books, slates, teaching aids such as clocks and globes, and basic classroom maintenance supplies.

"It’s been a long two years for children and for organizations like UNICEF to try and do that education without those materials," the spokesperson said and added: "It looks like we’re finally seeing a real change."

More than 700,000 school-aged children across the Gaza Strip have been out of formal education since October 2023, according to UNICEF. Currently, the agency is supporting more than 135,400 children in more than 110 learning spaces across Gaza.

In the first phase of Back to Learning, UNICEF and partners aim to scale up, increasing the number of children accessing in-person learning and healing from 135,400 to 336,000 during 2026, Elder said.

"It is hoped all school-age children could be back in in-person learning in 2027," he noted, as over 90% of schools are destroyed or damaged in the strip and 60% of children have no access to in-person learning currently.

Elder described the situation as almost two and a half years of attacks on Gaza schooling have left "an entire generation at risk."

- Phase two 'a humanitarian necessity,' not political milestone

Responding to Anadolu's question about remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the next phase of the ceasefire would focus on demilitarization rather than reconstruction, the spokesperson said: "There shouldn't be any need for interpretation."

"Phase two is pretty clear," the spokesperson said. “It's not a political milestone; it's a humanitarian necessity."

He linked recent child deaths to the lack of durable shelter, pointing to the extreme conditions faced by families living in makeshift tents.

"We’ve now had at least 10 children confirmed to have died from hypothermia," Elder said, adding, "That wouldn’t have happened if we had more durable shelters."

According to the spokesperson, the second phase of the ceasefire would enable "large-scale improvements in things like shelter and in things like schooling."

Asked about the Rafah crossing by Anadolu, the spokesperson said there had been "no movement" so far despite widespread desperation among separated families.

"I have daily contact with Palestinians who are desperate for that to open," they said. "At the moment, we haven’t, but certainly phase two means there are no more excuses for Rafah not to open."

His remarks came as Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after the return of the remains of the final Israeli hostage from the besieged Gaza Strip, which took place on Monday.

The current second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, includes provisions calling for the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, an additional Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave, and the launch of reconstruction efforts.

The Israeli army has killed more than 71,600 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,300 people in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that left Gaza in ruins.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out attacks, killing 484 Palestinians and wounding 1,321, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.