The new school year in the Palestinian territories officially began on Monday, with all schools in Gaza shut after 11 months of war and no sign of a ceasefire.
As fighting continued, Israel announced new orders to residents of the north Gaza Strip to leave their homes, in response to rockets fired into Israel.
Umm Zaki's son Moataz, 15, was supposed to begin 10th grade. Instead he woke up in their tent in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and was sent to fetch a container of water from more than a kilometre away.
"Usually, such a day would be a day of celebration, seeing the children in the new uniform, going to school, and dreaming of becoming doctors and engineers. Today all we hope is that the war ends before we lose any of them," the mother of five told Reuters by text message.
The Palestinian Education Ministry said all Gaza schools were shut and 90% of them had been destroyed or damaged in Israel's assault on the territory, launched after Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli towns in October last year.
International Glance
Condemnation poured in from world leaders after Israel bombed the so-called Al-Mawasi “safe-zone” in southern Gaza, killing at least 19 people and wounding 60 others. The toll is expected to rise.
Apple on Tuesday lost its last bid to avoid paying 13 billion euros ($14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, in a finale to a dispute with the European Union that centered on sweetheart deals that Dublin was offering to attract multinational businesses with minimal taxes across the 27-nation bloc. The final decision by the EU’s top court was quickly hailed as a landmark victory over corporate greed.
