Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi (C) paints with children inside his tent in Deir al-Balah City in the center of the Gaza Strip, on July 4, 2024. In a small corner of a refugee tent draped in clotheslines of outfits and bags of daily essentials, Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi sits hunched over a big sketchbook, quickly putting on page one after another displaced family gathering beneath their shelter tent. (Photo: Xinhua)

 

Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi draws inside his tent in Deir al-Balah City in the center of the Gaza Strip, on July 4, 2024. In a small corner of a refugee tent draped in clotheslines of outfits and bags of daily essentials, Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi sits hunched over a big sketchbook, quickly putting on page one after another displaced family gathering beneath their shelter tent. (Photo: Xinhua)

 

Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi draws inside his tent in Deir al-Balah City in the center of the Gaza Strip, on July 4, 2024. In a small corner of a refugee tent draped in clotheslines of outfits and bags of daily essentials, Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi sits hunched over a big sketchbook, quickly putting on page one after another displaced family gathering beneath their shelter tent. (Photo: Xinhua)

 

Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi draws inside his tent in Deir al-Balah City in the center of the Gaza Strip, on July 4, 2024. In a small corner of a refugee tent draped in clotheslines of outfits and bags of daily essentials, Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi sits hunched over a big sketchbook, quickly putting on page one after another displaced family gathering beneath their shelter tent. (Photo: Xinhua)

 
In a small corner of a refugee tent draped in clotheslines of outfits and bags of daily essentials, Palestinian artist Basel al-Maqousi sits hunched over a big sketchbook, quickly putting on page one after another displaced family gathering beneath their shelter tent.

The strokes are bold, leaving a sharp black-and-white contrast between a bleak forest of tents in the war-ravaged Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, and fresh Palestinian faces up front.

The protagonists seem to wear a calm, even decisive, expression, leaving outsiders no more hints to decipher, as though they refused to surrender a solemn moment of reunion to another Israeli attack, which could shatter the sheer facade of peace at any minute.

These captivating artworks not only capture a sense of "death reprieve" brought by the protracted Israeli bloodshed to millions of Gazans but also carry the traumatic memories of 45-year-old al-Maqousi, also a father of five.

The artist told Xinhua he still could not believe the beautiful central Gaza city had been destroyed, and he, like other Palestinians in the territory, had lost his home and a normal life.

"For ten months in a row, we (Palestinians) were forced to be in a race with the death all the time because of the ongoing Israeli attacks ... we were displaced multiple times just to find safe places. However, we found nothing," he said.

"Every time we were forced to displace," the artist recalled, "I lost some of my human emotions and faith in life getting back on track someday. My personality has changed by the mental pressure we are suffering from."

Before the war, al-Maqousi used to paint for the beauty and nature in Gaza. But the war made him increasingly alert and nervous, sometimes unable to control his reactions. This upset those around him.

To rein back and to relieve the internal pressure, he resorted to painting. The anger, fears, hopelessness, and dire reality in Gaza were thus translated into artworks.

Day by day, al-Maqousi started to see beautiful moments could still exist in a time of hardship and tried to deliver the feeling of normality and hope as he drew children playing at the beach while others gathered to get their lunch on the sand.

"The smiles of children had encouraged me to pick up the hope once again ... After drawing dozens of such paintings, I felt that I regained my positive energy," he said.

In a bid to help others traumatized by the war, al-Maqousi then launched a drawing workshop for displaced children from scratch and managed to overcome a severe shortage of drawing boards, paints, and even a suitable place.

"I was surprised when I saw the children draw beautiful paintings; some drew beautiful houses with their families, others drew Palestinian flags, while the third group preferred to draw the Palestinian flag," al-Maqousi said as he flashed a smile.

He added, "I felt that we (Palestinians) have the full energy to continue our life even if we lost everything now, and we will rebuild our life once the current war ends."

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

By Monday, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza has risen to 38,664, according to the Gaza-based health authorities.