BUREIJ, Gaza Strip (AP via Main Street Independent) — Under a sunny sky in central Gaza, a row of paintings — a dove, a bullet hole, a human silhouette — lay on the ground Tuesday, as young Palestinian artists sought to show the world what the war and its fragile aftermath look like.
The impromptu exhibit in Bureij featured dozens of works created over four months during a workshop organized by Ghanem Al-Din. “They painted their feelings, their ambitions, their hopes, their visions,” Al-Din said.
One of the artists, 21‑year‑old Obay Al-Qarshali, said he fled his home in Gaza City after the war began in late 2023, taking only what he could carry and leaving behind more than 30 paintings — now lost to bombing and destruction. His piece on display showed broken glass, cars topped with mattresses and belongings, and the debris of buildings.
“Because of how much we were displaced and suffered in moving and carrying our belongings, the tents, the crowds, and so much more, I wanted to express something that deeply troubled me: that we left our homes and our safe places, forced to flee, scatter, and change our location,” Al-Qarshali said. He was displaced at least seven times during the war.
The exhibition unfolded against the backdrop of a war that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Run by Hamas, the ministry produces casualty records that U.N. agencies and independent experts regard as generally reliable.
The territory’s civilian infrastructure has been devastated. A joint report by the United Nations and the European Union last week said that more than 371,000 housing units have been destroyed and that over half of Gaza’s hospitals are non‑functional. Gaza’s economy has contracted by 84%. Nearly all schools are damaged or destroyed.
Aid organizations detailed further destruction. Doctors Without Borders reported that about 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged. A Mercy Corps study found that only 7% of the territory’s agricultural infrastructure remains functional.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect in October, Israeli forces have continued near‑daily strikes and fire around military‑held zones, killing more than 800 Palestinians since then, according to the Health Ministry. On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in Gaza City, killing four men, according to Shifa Hospital. The strike occurred away from the so‑called Yellow Line that separates Israeli‑controlled areas from the rest of the territory. Israel’s military said it struck a “terrorist” in the location, without providing details.
Also on Tuesday, a 9‑year‑old boy was killed by Israeli fire while gathering firewood in the southern city of Khan Younis, about 400 meters west of the Yellow Line, Nasser Hospital said. Israel’s military did not immediately comment. Associated Press video showed siblings crying over the boy at the morgue. During the funeral, a woman said, “What is the guilt of those children? God is plaguing you, Israel.”
The path forward for Gaza remains uncertain. Tony Blair, a key member of the U.S.-created Board of Peace, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that “critical demilitarization talks with Hamas are continuing.” Reconstruction is expected to cost more than $70 billion and take a decade, the U.N.-EU report said.