Gaza Herald — In a territory where relentless bombardment reduces human lives to daily casualty tolls, the newly opened “Archive of Life” exhibition in the Gaza Strip stands as a powerful act of Palestinian cultural preservation and memory resistance.
Initiated by the Untold Palestine team with support from the A.M. Qattan Foundation and in collaboration with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the exhibition documents the vibrant lives, unfulfilled dreams, and personal legacies of 1,000 Palestinians killed during Israel’s ongoing genocidal war.
By centering photographs and intimate testimonies provided by surviving families, the project directly counters the dehumanization of a conflict that has claimed more than 74,000 Palestinian lives and injured over 175,000 others since October 2023.
Among the panels stands young Yara Hassan, holding a photograph of her younger brother, Mohammed, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on his tenth birthday while filling a water container at a shelter entrance. For Yara and hundreds of participating families, documenting these personal details ensures that their slain loved ones are remembered as distinct individuals with rich personalities rather than anonymous statistics in news bulletins.
Originating from the early volunteer campaign “We Are Not Numbers,” the initiative evolved into a comprehensive digital and physical archive under the direction of Iman Jadallah, allowing families to articulate their own narratives and preserve the final surviving traces of homes, heirlooms, and personal histories systematically targeted by military destruction.
Preserving the Professional Legacy of Slain Women Journalists
The Archive of Life dedicates a significant section to Palestinian media workers killed in the line of duty, specifically highlighting the professional contributions and personal lives of women journalists such as Mariam Abu Daqqa, Hiba al-Abadla, and Marwa Muslim.
Journalist Shorouq Shaheen recalled her colleague Hiba al-Abadla, who was killed alongside her young daughter during an Israeli military assault on Khan Younis. Through accounts from surviving peers, the exhibition honors these journalists not merely as casualties of war, but as pioneering professional voices who documented state violence under direct fire until their deaths.
Journalist Wafaa Abu Hajjaj, a member of the Untold Palestine team, emphasized that restoring the humanity of Gaza’s slain civilians, spanning children, elderly residents, mothers, and reporters, is an essential duty of Palestinian journalism. By assembling these eyewitness accounts and family photographs, the archive records the broader experience of a press corps reporting under constant bombardment, enforced displacement, and targeted internet blackouts.
Safeguarding Collective Memory Against Ongoing Escalation
The opening of the archive comes amid persistent Israeli military attacks that continue to violate the October 10, 2025 ceasefire agreement. Ongoing shelling, sniper fire, and demolition operations in occupied zones have killed 1,551 Palestinians and wounded 5,573 others since the nominal truce began.
In the face of continuous physical erasure and land confiscation, the Archive of Life serves as a vital safeguard for Palestinian national identity. Every photograph on display represents a complete life cut short, ensuring that the personal stories of Gaza’s martyrs remain permanently etched into collective history rather than buried beneath military aggression.
