Palestinian artist Dina Halid Zaurub, 22, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip. Zaurub was known for her powerful portraits of Palestinians who died in the war. The young artist, who captured themes of grief, memory, and resistance in her work, had a significant place in Gaza's cultural memory. Her final piece, a self-portrait, remained unfinished when she passed away.
The Palestinian Ministry of Culture expressed condolences, calling her a "talented young woman who preserved memory through her art." The ministry described her death as another "tragic scene" of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Zaurub had already won recognition for her talent at a young age. In 2015, at just 13 years old, she won the best drawing award in a competition by the Al Mezan Human Rights Center with a piece on "Children's Rights in Armed Conflicts." Her work was later acknowledged by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and UNRWA.
Her drawings, described by friends as the "voice of the voiceless," made visible the human stories the war sought to erase. One of her artist friends said, "She drew the faces of the dead so that we wouldn't forget them. Now, we must not forget her."
