honouring the martyrs:
a growing memorial exhibit that honors the more than 185,000 Palestinian martyrs who have been murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces since October 7, 2023. our work resists notions that confine Palestinian life to nothing more than statistics, and includes the faces of family members, social justice activists, poets, students, doctors, journalists, musicians, and more. the portraits were originally created by Fatima and Grace to be displayed at University of Chicago graduation ceremonies as a form of protest and an urge for the university to divest from genocide. the portraits were later stitched onto several quilts and comforters that had been used at the Northwestern Popular University encampment as a collective art project in which poppies were painted onto the comforters and names of martyrs written on pieces of fabric were attached. since that time, community members including artists, children, families, and activists have also contributed portraits, stitched on flowers and reflections, and gathered together in prayer to remember the lives of those who have been lost.
we create this art as a means of honoring their legacy and providing space for grief, reflection, and prayer. we invite other artists to contribute to this exhibit through the creation of portraits, calligraphy, or other means of memorializing the martyrs. please contact us for submissions of art, to request the addition of a portrait, or to host the memorial in your own space.
may Allah grant the martyrs the highest ranks of Jannah.
Ayham was a 7 year old happy boy full of energy, he was his parents only child. Ayham was on dialysis and bravely fought kidney disease for years, only to be killed in an instant by Israeli missiles.
portrait of a martyred child whose name is unknown.
Lara Sayegh was 18 years old when she collapsed and died of heat exhaustion while her and her mother were fleeing to Egypt by foot via a “safe route”. Israeli forces banned emergency services from reaching her.
Malak Haniya was a toddler and the granddaughter of Ismail Haniya.
Rafef Abu Medha was killed alongside her sister, Reem, her father, Abdullah, and her mother.
Zain Orouk survived the bombing of his family’s home in Gaza by Israeli warplanes, but was killed when an airdropped aid box fell on him.
Mira and her family were displaced into Rafah where they thought they would be safe as their home in Khan Yunis was destroyed by Israeli bombs. However Israeli bombardment followed them to Rafah and little Mira was killed on December 13th 2023.
Mai R. Ubeid was a tech engineer with muscular dystrophy who dreamed of establishing her own start up for people with disabilities. She was murdered by an Israeli airstrike alongside her entire family. Read a memorial to Mai written by one of her surviving friends: https://anamraheem.substack.com/p/a-delicate-small-gazelle
"One year ago today, on 13 November 2023, at 5:08 am, the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) fatally shot Issa Al-Qadi, a 66-year-old Palestinian father of seven and widower, in the head during a raid on Hebron city in the West Bank. At the time Issa was shot, he was around 100 metres away, reversing his vehicle away from the illegally present IOF. The soldier who shot and killed Issa was positioned across from him, firing just two minutes after Issa first encountered the IOF that day. The IOF failed to administer and provide any medical assistance to Issa, leaving him to bleed for nearly an hour until a Palestinian passerby spotted him, and called for help. Issa was then transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. A man of habit and routine, Issa usually left his home early to pray the Fajr prayer before commencing his day’s work as a taxi driver. According to the family, before leaving home that day, Issa had promised his daughter that he would come back home with breakfast – a promise forcefully left unfulfilled."
Mohammad was killed on February 29th, 2024 in the first flour massacre, He went to get flour as they are starved in the north. As they were waiting he got shot in the leg and as people started running for their lives mohammad couldn’t. He bled to death.
Ehab Ayoub (29) was a devoted husband, son, and hardworking young man. While volunteering to dig graves at a cemetery, he was killed by an Israeli sniper. Only a few months later, his wife gave birth to their first child.
Muhammad Ahmad Al-Hobi was a 24 year old who studied journalism and media at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza. Muhammad graduated on October 6, 2023, and was waiting for the genocide to be over before posting his graduation photos, however, he was killed by Israeli aggression in May, 2024. Muhammad dreamed of becoming a famous journalist and media figure so that he could report and document the crimes of the Israeli occupation against his people. Muhammad volunteered with human rights organizations and media institutions.
Saba Abu Saad, the sister of Sama Abu Saad, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home along with her sister and their mother Khulood Abu Kheir. Their father referred to Saba and Sama as his hearbeat.
Sama Abu Saad, the sister of Saba Abu Saad, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home along with her sister and their mother Khulood Abu Kheir. Their father referred to Saba and Sama as his hearbeat.
Luay was killed during Ramadan during an Israeli airstrike.
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Lubna was a 14 year old, skilled violinist.
Rayam was an infant.
Dana Sakka was newly wedded and excited that she would be a mother. Dana said: "I have a constant feeling I'm going to die young." She and her unborn child were killed by Israeli Occupation Forces.
Alaa Al-Hams, a 35-year-old Palestinian journalist for the local Palestinian News Agency SND succumbed to her injuries after being seriously wounded in an Israeli airstrike on her family house in Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, which resulted in the tragic loss of ten members of her family on December 2, 2023
Yazan was killed on February 13th in an Israeli airstrike attack on Rafah. He was killed along with 73 others in a designated safe zone
Sabreen was a toddler who enjoyed playing at the beach.
Independent Journalist Basel Al-Sharafi’s last tweet: “The Oslo accords returned 750,000 Palestinians to their homeland, this Hamas of yours displaced them. Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar) liberated Gaza, your ‘resistance’ returned it to the Israeli Occupation. You killed yourselves so you can follow Khamenai and gamble with the children of your nation. Long live your stupidity” He was martyred by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, along with his family.
Yousef Dawas was a land preservationist, writer, and guitarist who died at the age of 20. His writings can be read: https://wordpress-1219962-4338684.cloudwaysapps.com/who-will-pay-for-the-20-years-we-lost/
Malak Hani Banna was an 8 year old who loved doing her hair and going to school. She was killed in her sleep by an Israeli airstrike.
Ghina died at 6 years old. She was described as overflowing with vitality and energy by those who knew her, with a strong love for life and her pets.
Ahmed Hamad and his four children were killed in an airstrike.
The entire Hamad family was killed in an airstrike.
The entire Hamad family was killed in an airstrike.
The entire Hamad family was killed in an airstrike.
The entire Hamad family was killed in an airstrike.
Tamer, a vibrant young man, had been actively involved in assisting his community and family since the onset of the aggression on Gaza. Tamer was killed on March 12th , 2024 while waiting for flour in north Gaza. He is the third brother in his family to have been killed by Israeli forces
