Children in Gaza are bearing the brunt of the ongoing conflict with Israel, as thousands have been deprived of classes during schools opening, which would be Monday.
After 11 months of hostilities, more than 600,000 students are being deprived of access to formal education for another year, according to the UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA).
UNRWA reports that no official schooling is available in any of its 200 schools, with many serving as shelters for displaced Palestinians.
Instead of going to school, 12-year-old Iyad is selling juice at a street corner in Gaza City to help his family stay afloat amid the ongoing conflict. Iyad and his younger brother have taken to the streets - one selling juice, the other selling candy.
"I should have been in sixth grade, but I can't go to school anymore. We have to go out and sell things. I feel very sad because I miss school life. I have no homework or exams now. Every day, I hope to see my friends, but now I just sell things - selling drinks to help my father support the family. I often see attacks on the streets, and I'm very scared," said Iyad.
Throughout the Gaza Strip, there are countless children like Iyad. Karim is one of them, who was supposed to advance to a higher grade this September, but now spends his days dragging a large ice cooler through the streets, selling water. "Sitting in a classroom with teachers and classmates, learning together - that would be wonderful, much better than selling water. At least in school, we could study, play, and laugh together. We wouldn't be wasting time. We worked hard to get good grades, but since the outbreak of the conflict, we have been forced to sell things. That's the reality," said Karim.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the number of humanitarian missions and movements that Israeli authorities denied access in Gaza nearly doubled in August compared to July, with 105 missions and movements denied last month versus 53 the previous month.
Conflict in Gaza disrupts school year for thousands of children
Conflict in Gaza disrupts school year for thousands of children
A high-level mediation team from the African Union (AU) Commission has been dispatched to Juba, capital of South Sudan, to try to ease the rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, and help resolve the current political crisis in the country.
Riek Machar and several senior officials have been detained since clashes erupted in January between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the opposition fighters.
Machar was accused of instigating violence in Nasir in the northern part of the country.
The mediation team says it plans to engage Machar, but that meeting is yet to take place.
The AU is urging South Sudanese political leaders to resolve the current disagreement through dialogue.
Machar heads the largest opposition group that has an armed wing in the country, known as SPLM/A-IO.
South Sudan's government says it's still investigating Machar for being allegedly involved in clashes between government troops and armed civilians affiliated to SPLM/A-IO in Nasir.
"The mandate of the RTGoNU (the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity) is simple; that we stop war, we form a revitalized government of national unity so that we return security, sustainable peace in the country," said Martin Elia Lomuro, South Sudan's Minister of Cabinet Affairs.
Meanwhile, Machar's party members are calling on president Kiir to order the release of their leader.
The group argues that the arrest of Machar means the 2018 peace deal which ended five years of violence in the country has partially collapsed.
The government reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the 2018 peace deal.
It says Mr. Machar is in conflict with the law and that the implementation of the peace deal should not be used as cover to commit crime. However, until now, South Sudanese law enforcement agencies have not charged Machar with any offense in a court of law.
South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, signed a peace deal in 2018 that ended a civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar. Nearly 400,000 people died in the civil war.
Relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. The clashes and latest political tensions between the two leaders have unsettled many citizens and the international community.
AU dispatches Panel of Wise to address ongoing instability in South Sudan
