Reviving an Ancient Craft
Young women in the Gaza Strip are bringing an ancient art form back to life, designing and restoring mosaics despite severe shortages of tools and materials after months of war.
Footage shows participants arranging fragments of ceramic and tile, cleaning damaged pieces and creating colourful murals inspired by Palestinian heritage.
“Mosaic is an ancient art that we have inherited through the ages. Currently, we are creating a mural depicting Al-Aqsa Mosque,” workshop participant Ghazal Saad Al-Aloul said.
“We recycled broken tiles and then started creating large artworks. This is a piece depicting a woman who survived from beneath the rubble,” fellow participant Kenan Mustafa Ramadan added.
Heritage Through Creative Resilience
Visual artist Mohammed Abu Lahiya said the workshop, run by the Culture and Free Thought Association, had reopened after closing during the war.
“We have returned to revive this place again by engaging children and young people through intensive training and courses on mosaic-making techniques,” Lahiya said.
“We focus on Palestinian cultural heritage by recreating Palestinian scenes inspired by our reality, including scenes dating back to before 1948 depicting Palestinian women, Palestinian farmers, olive trees, and the sea,” he added.
With specialist tools and materials difficult to obtain, participants have been forced to improvise.
“We know that we have emerged from a war, and therefore materials and tools are scarce. We use alternatives in mosaic techniques, whether in the process of cutting, assembling, or securing the artworks,” Lahiya noted.
Conflict and Reconstruction Efforts
The Gaza war began after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 people taken hostage.
Israel responded with a large-scale military campaign in Gaza, including air strikes and ground operations. At the time of publication, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 73,118 Palestinians had been killed and 173,615 wounded.
In January 2026, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, shifting from the ceasefire towards demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction.
Article by Viory.
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