THE one aspect that remains untouched amid all the chaos of death and hunger in the Gaza Strip is the disruption in the academic journey of children for whom survival is the only curriculum.

There are no blackboards; only broken walls and burning ruins. There are no desks; only graves and rubble. There are no safe spaces to learn; only the constant terror of sniper fire and drone strikes.

This is not war. This is the deliberate annihilation of a generation, a calculated campaign to destroy a people`s future, identity and culture.

More than 80 per cent of Gaza`s schools lie in ruins, reduced to rubble or turned into mass graves. Even the schools run by the United Nations, once considered sanctuaries, have been bombed with impunity. Over 6,000 direct Israeli attacks have been documented on educational institutions.

In these tragic attacks, makeshift tents where teachers attempted to conduct classes were obliterated. The universities in Gaza`s, once proud centres of learning and resistance, now lie in ruins; libraries and laboratories stand erased. This is not destruction. This is cultural erasure.

In an age where humanity speaks of artificial intelligence (AI) and space travel, children in Gaza are starving to death.

Aid convoys are either blocked or bombed.

Potable water is a myth. Medicine is a luxury. The dreams of Gaza`s children have been reduced to one desperate plea: bread, water and survival.

What kind of civilisation allows this? The same world that arms and funds conflicts, signs defence pacts, and drafts hollow resolutions now watches in silence as Gaza`s soul is extinguished in real time.

There is a complicit silence; deafening and deadly.

And, yet, amid the ruins, Gaza`s teachers persist. Grieving and injured themselves, they gather children in shattered courtyards and attempt to teach even when surroundedbynothingbut chaos.

It is an act of unimaginable courage; a whisper of dignity amid the roar of destruction. But it is obvious that hope alone cannot rebuild what has been methodically destroyed.

When everything in Gaza is already finished Hamas destroyed, tunnels obliterated, infrastructure razed, axis of resistance crippled, and the population has been starved into submission why continue this madness against innocent children and their right to education? Their pencils, books and dreams pose no threat to powerful war machines. The time for excuses has long passed. This war on education, on the future, on life itself must be stopped. If we fail Gaza`s children, we forfeit our own humanity.

Qamer Soomro Shikarpur