Mahasen Al-Khatib, a Gazan artist who reported on the war and continued to paint to maintain hope, was killed last week in an operation carried out by the occupation forces in Jabalia.

On February 4, Mahasen Al-Khatib posted a video from Jabalia refugee camp. She began the video by greeting her followers, saying, “Hello, I’m Mahasen from Gaza, trying to survive.” In the video, she presented an animation of a woman in her fifties wearing a purple headscarf. The work was based on a displaced Gazan woman Al-Khatib had met earlier. The video was shared thousands of times and broadcast in Arab media. Since the outbreak of the war, Al-Khatib has used art to document daily moments in northern Gaza. On October 17 of this year, she posted a video on her X account, writing, “Hard nights.” The sound of gunfire and shelling can be heard in the background.

One of her drawings depicted a young man being consumed by flames; it was based on an incident that occurred on October 14 when a fire broke out in a parking lot near a specific location (a hospital). The fire killed four people, including a woman and a child. The Israeli army said it was investigating. This was Khatib's most famous drawing, viewed by 4.9 million people. On October 18, she was killed in an attack on Jabalia. Her uncle, Abu Karim Khatib, confirmed this in an interview with BBC Arabic. He said: "She had a kind heart. She had an audience from all classes, young and old, children and everyone who loved art in Gaza knew her. She loved everyone. She taught art lovers how to draw. She believed that giving is the greatest value in life, and she tried to adhere to that."

Al-Khatib was 31 years old when she was killed. She had a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Islamic University, and animation was a hobby she had developed over the years. A decade ago, she started painting on canvas and then moved on to digital and cartoon drawings. Despite the lack of opportunities to exhibit her work in Gaza, she did exhibit her work in a group exhibition of female Gazan artists in 2016, funded by the Norwegian People’s Aid organization. Her uncle, Abu Karim, told BBC Arabic that he was in constant contact with his niece. “She came back and told me that she wanted to see me, my wife and my daughters as soon as the war was over,” he said. “The last thing I heard from her was ‘I miss you, uncle.’ It was at 11 p.m. I heard the sounds of shelling nearby, the connection was cut off, and I knew something had happened.”

The house was hit as part of the Israeli ground operation before the attack on the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, he says. Some of her family members were injured, while she was killed. News of her death quickly spread through Arab media and social networks. Artist Gianluca Costantini paid tribute to her on his ChannelDraw website, writing: “Al-Khatib was known for her social engagement and ability to portray the suffering and aspirations of the Palestinian people through art. Her drawings and cartoons poignantly represented the daily struggles of Palestinians living under occupation. She was a powerful voice in the cultural landscape of the Gaza Strip.”

Princess Basma bint Talal mourned Al Khatib on her personal Facebook account. She said: “Mahasen Al Khatib, a talented digital artist from Gaza, was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit her home in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. She is among the many killed in the recent brutal attacks. Through her art, Mahasen reflected the painful reality of Gaza and helped convey the struggle and resilience of her people to the world. Despite her passing, her legacy will live on.”

“She is not just a number. She is a human being. A talented painter, she survived the war to stay in her home in northern Gaza,” Gazan photographer Omar al-Qata wrote on Facebook. He posted messages she had sent in recent days. “In this war, we learn the value of good people, and you are one of them.” In another exchange, he offered to do a story about her. She politely declined, saying: “I want to stay in the bubble and world I created for myself in this war. This is the only way to preserve what is left of my soul.”

The characters Al-Khatib creates reflect sadness, grief, joy, and nostalgia. On her Instagram account, she shares her thoughts with her 134,000 followers. “I want to tell the story of Gaza and its people without words,” she wrote in a December 2023 post. “Art is a way to connect with the world and maintain sanity amidst the chaos that reigns in Gaza.”

Art is not a popular field in the Gaza Strip. Poverty, lack of funding and a lack of physical space make it difficult for young artists to develop. Despite all this, Al-Khatib tried to make her own way. She worked as a freelancer for more than a decade with international companies, designing characters and storyboards. She also started a virtual course in Arabic on animation, and managed to attract students from different Arab countries.

She had two dreams: to create her own studio to work and teach others, and to have her own apartment. The war stopped all that, and death became a daily occurrence. On November 7, 2023, she wrote in a post on X: “I am offering my previous courses for free. This is a prayer for Gaza and a charity to save my soul in case I die. Pray more and forgive me.”

On January 23, she posted a photo of herself on Facebook, smiling at the camera with a clear face. She wrote: “When I die, you won’t have to look for my picture.”

Last March, she spoke to The Washington Post about the challenge of preparing food under siege. On the third day of iftar, she planned to make bread with preserved tomato sauce. She said her brother had risked his life to get a bag of flour from an international aid convoy. “This is not a new situation with Ramadan. We have been fasting for more than a month. There are no food products to buy and eat,” she said.

One of the drawings that made waves in Arab media was of her nephew holding a piece of chicken, last August. It’s hard not to notice the joy on his face. “This is chicken. This is chicken. What do you want us to do? Cook it or fry it?” Al-Khatib is heard laughing in the video. “I want maqluba,” he replies.

Another beautiful moment she documented was at a school in northern Gaza, where she spent a few weeks. She drew a stall owner who sold cooked rice pudding. She wrote: “Our young people are beautiful and want to earn a living with dignity. This is my meal at the IDP center. He used to sell one plate for two shekels, now that I am a regular customer, he sells it for one and a half shekels. Thank you to the good people who want to live.”

Last June, Khatib hoped to leave the Gaza Strip and reach Egypt with her family—her mother, sister, and three brothers. She posted a link to a crowdfunding page on GoFundMe, writing, “My father passed away, and I am the main breadwinner for my family… In this difficult situation, I am a digital artist, and I find solace and resilience through my art.” But the cost of moving to Egypt was prohibitive—about $5,000 per person—and funding was not found. As a result, the family decided to stay in their home in Jabalia rather than risk the unknown.

“We didn’t expect the war to last this long,” she told The Washington Post. “I pray to God that the war will end before Ramadan.” In July, she began offering low-cost virtual training, reconnected with companies she had worked with before, and designed posters and clothing in her unique artistic style.

In ideal circumstances, Khatib would have been a top-notch artist, working with animation companies.