Tent schools rise from rubble as Gaza's children return to classrooms

In the devastated landscape of Gaza City, makeshift tent schools have risen from the rubble, offering Palestinian children their first structured education in more than two years since the outbreak of a prolonged conflict.

In western Gaza City, a temporary school housed in tents has become a rare sanctuary of learning for students whose education was abruptly cut off. With the majority of school buildings damaged or destroyed, emergency education initiatives led by international organizations and local partners are now delivering basic lessons under severely constrained conditions.

"After children's education was interrupted for two years due to the war in Gaza, we at Sanabel School are now able to resume the learning process, and bring students back to their desks," said Heba Farwana, the school's principal.

For these students, returning to school does not mean a return to normalcy. Classrooms are makeshift tents, resources are scarce, yet the determination to learn remains unwavering.

"We've returned to Sanabel School after the war to achieve our dreams. Even though it's made of tents, we want to study and fulfill our ambitions," said a student named Nisreen Abu Jarad.

Teachers report that the lengthy disruption has resulted in significant learning loss, particularly in foundational skills essential for academic development.

"After two years without schooling, we can see that students' academic levels are very weak. Many struggle with spelling, writing, and reading, and there is a clear gap in basic skills," said Israa Qneita, a teacher at the school.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 91 percent of school buildings in Gaza will require either full reconstruction or major rehabilitation to become functional again. The agency previously operated 288 schools across the territory.

In Gaza today, tents serve not only as shelters for the displaced but also as fragile replacements for destroyed schools. Education has become a daily act of resilience, a struggle to safeguard the future as an entire generation strives to learn amid profound uncertainty.

Tent schools rise from rubble as Gaza's children return to classrooms

The death toll from a shopping mall fire in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi climbed to 60 after at least 30 bodies were recovered from a shop of the multi-story building, officials said on Wednesday.

The bodies were recovered from the mezzanine floor of the shopping mall, said senior police official Syed Asad Raza, adding that several people are still missing and a search operation is continuing to recover them.

He said that the rescue efforts are being carried out using sophisticated machines, and debris is being removed from the collapsed sections of the building.

The official said that the rescue workers are facing difficulties reaching some parts of the building due to smoke and heat inside the damaged structure, adding that one part of the building is cleared and the other two parts are being combed to rescue people under the rubble.

Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi said that an investigation into the incident has been launched as authorities look into the fire from multiple angles.

Death toll from shopping mall fire in Pakistan's Karachi rises to 60