In Gaza City, the sound of children learning can be heard once again.
The tents that now serve as classrooms are noisy and a little chaotic but lively. Some teachers point to boards covered in English letters; others invite pupils to come forward and write basic Arabic words.
It is nowhere near a normal school day. But after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October, it's a start.
After two years of war, the hum of lessons and chatter of classmates resonates around the ruins of what was once Lulwa Abdel Wahab al-Qatami School, in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood in the south-western part of Gaza City.
It was hit in January 2024, and for months afterwards, its grounds served as a shelter for displaced families. Today, it is again a place of learning - albeit in a more basic form.
Walking in a straight line, their small arms resting on each other's shoulders, pupils smile as they head into the makeshift classrooms.
For many, this is the first return to routine and education since the war began.
According to UNICEF, more than 97% of schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed during the war. The IDF has made repeated claims that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure including schools to carry out operations but has rarely provided solid evidence.
Of the Strip's 658,000 school-aged children, most have had no formal education for nearly two years. During that time, many learned first-hand how hunger, displacement, and death can shape their young lives. Now, something rare is emerging: a fragile glimpse of the childhoods they once knew.
Fourteen-year-old Naeem al-Asmaar used to attend this school before it was destroyed. He lost his mother in an Israeli airstrike during the war. It was the hardest thing I've ever been through, he says quietly.
Although he was displaced for months, Naeem's home in Gaza City survived. After the ceasefire, he returned with his family. I missed being in school a lot, Naeem said, adding that the difference is stark.
While now studying in tents, Naeem laments, Before the war, school was in real classrooms. Now it's just tents. We only study four subjects, and the education is not the same - but being here matters. School fills all my time, and I really needed that.
Rital Alaa Harb, a ninth-grade student, wishes to become a dentist. Displacement affected my education completely. There was no time to study or schools. I missed my friends so much, she reflects.
The makeshift school run by UNICEF serves 1,100 boys and girls, operating in three shifts a day with limited resources and just 24 teachers. Dr Mohammed Saeed Schheiber, the principal, expresses determination to compensate students for what they've lost.
Despite the hardships, he emphasizes, Education is our foundation. As Palestinians, it is our capital. We lose homes, we lose money, but knowledge - knowledge is the one investment we can still give our children.
