A young Gazan artist known for her hauntingly beautiful portraits of people killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was herself killed on 12 April by an Israeli airstrike, according to Quds News Network. Dina Khaled Zaurub reportedly died when the strike, on a displaced persons camp located west of Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza, hit the tent where she and her family had taken shelter. She was 22 years old.
Tributes to the artist poured in from around the world. One of her followers in Tunisia wrote on Facebook: “The artist Dina Zaurub who painted the martyrs in their honour and memory joined them today.”
The artist won the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Award in 2015 for the best drawing about childrens’ rights during armed conflict. She was later recognised by the Palestinian ministry of education and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for her work. The Palestinian ministry of culture issued a statement mourning the loss of “a gifted young woman whose art kept memory alive in a time of relentless erasure”.
Zaurub specialised in portraiture, and used her art to document many of her fallen friends, including the late Ahmad Abu Al-Roos, a journalist who was killed by Israeli forces in January.
In a Facebook post from 15 January, featuring a photo of her handing Al-Roos his portrait, she paid homage to him. “May God have mercy on you Ahmed, you were the best friend that God witnesses, you always told me that I will see you, the best painter from Gaza, so you left Ahmed before I realized my dream. I swear it's too early, my friend.”
Also featured on her Facebook page are drawings of Khaled Nabhan, who became widely known after a video circulated showing him grieving two of his grandchildren, who were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Deir al Balah in November 2023. He himself was killed in December 2024 when the IDF bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Dina’s Facebook page, which has now become a virtual shrine of sorts, is a testament to her joy for life, filled with photos of her portraits of friends, and her volunteer work with orphans. Her last post, from 12 April, features photos of her sitting serenely at a seaside café. In it she wrote: “it’s all about tenderness”.
The Gazan artist Malak Mattar, who is just a few years older than Dina, tells The Art Newspaper that charcoal-and-graphite drawings are popular in Gaza and that many young people enroll in courses to learn how to draw their families and friends.
“As a young artist from Gaza, it’s painful to see fellow artists and colleagues mostly being written about and recognised after their murder,” she says. “Artists in Gaza deserve justice, protection, and recognition in their lifetime—as true warriors and witnesses of [this] horrific genocide.”
More than 50,933 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its campaign to eradicate Hamas, according to the local health ministry. This campaign began following the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas, during which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israeli officials have said that they believe 24 of the 59 remaining hostages are still alive.
The conflict resumed on 18 March—following a two-month ceasefire—after Israel launched surprise bombardments across Gaza.