GAZA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Perched atop a mound of shattered concrete that was once a family home, Palestinian artist Jana Abu Harbid steadies her brush and paints a tent draped in the Palestinian flag beside the Arabic words "Hope Remains."
Around her, collapsed buildings stretch across Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, where streets once lined with homes have been reduced to fields of rubble.
For the 20-year-old artist, the ruins are more than reminders of destruction. They have become canvases that preserve memories, carry the stories of families uprooted by war, and convey a message of resilience: that life can endure even amid devastation.
Across the Gaza Strip, graffiti artists are transforming cracked walls, broken facades and slabs of concrete into open-air galleries.
Originally from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza and now displaced in Gaza City, Abu Harbid told Xinhua that painting on the ruins has become her way of processing the miseries Palestinians have endured.
"I wanted to express our suffering through art. Despite everything we have been through, I continue to paint," she said. "Every house carries memories of a family that once lived there."
The conflict has also reshaped her own life. Abu Harbid lost her father in an earlier war, while the latest conflict interrupted her university education and made paints, brushes and other art supplies difficult to obtain because of shortages and soaring prices.
Abu Harbid is among dozens of Palestinian artists who have embraced graffiti since the war erupted after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering a large-scale Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
According to Gaza health authorities, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 173,000 injured. Most residents have been displaced at least once, while large areas of cities and refugee camps lie in ruins, according to Palestinian officials.
Palestinian graffiti artist Ubay al-Qarshali, 26, said the devastation transformed ruined homes into powerful spaces for artistic expression.
"The destroyed buildings have become witnesses to what happened here. They are now the most truthful places to express the reality we are living," he said.
Al-Qarshali, who lost several relatives during the war and was displaced more than 10 times, now seeks to connect each mural to the people who once lived there.
Before beginning a mural, Al-Qarshali often speaks with homeowners or relatives to learn about their experiences. Those conversations influence the images and symbols he chooses.
"If I know the family's story, I try to make the artwork part of their memory," he said. "I also include words or symbols that encourage hope so people feel their story is still alive."
"When someone tells me the painting moved them or gave them a moment of hope, I feel it has achieved its purpose," he said.
Palestinian visual artist and art expert Sharif Sarhan said the war has transformed not only the lives of Gaza's residents but also the role of graffiti.
"These ruins became the artists' available canvases," he said. "The murals allow them to continue creating while documenting the destruction, daily life and the experiences of people affected by the war."
According to Sarhan, the artworks also reach audiences beyond Gaza through photographs shared on social media, giving the murals a documentary dimension, helping convey Palestinians' experiences to the wider world.
"Graffiti has taken on social and psychological functions in addition to its artistic value," he said. "Artists have turned the public spaces left by destruction into visual records that preserve memory and document this period of Gaza's history."
As Abu Harbid continues to paint, the words "Hope Remains" stand out amid the gray ruins of Tel al-Hawa.
"Painting on the rubble is a way of saying that those memories still exist," she said. ■
