Despite the horror and brutality of life under the relentless torture of occupation, the world is astonished that Gazans still hold on to hope. We create hope for others when we insist on believing that Gaza can rise again from the rubble, even as we hear the sounds of bombardment destroying our homes, snatching the lives of our loved ones, and shattering our dreams.

Painter Frans Al-Salmi continued to create until her very last moment. She was killed by the Israeli military on June 30, 2025, as she worked on a canvas in a seaside café — her painting stained with her own blood rather than its intended colors.

This is the painting Frans Al-Salmi was in the process of creating at the moment she was killed — her brush drenched in the colors of Gaza’s pain. As she painted the shrouded martyr

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