Dorgham Qareqa: Another Palestinian artist killed by Israel
Dorgham Qareqa, 28, was a big fan of Van Gogh. He shared the same passion for art and life struggles that the Dutch master experienced, said fellow artist and close friend, Mohammed al-Haj. This earned him the title of "Van Gogh's grandson", said al-Haj.
But an Israeli attack on 4 March killed the Palestinian artist along with his wife, siblings and 13 members of his extended family.
His death is the latest to target members of Gaza's arts community, many of whom have been killed since Israel's devastating war on Gaza began in October 2023.
Qareqa was a multi-talented artist skilled in handicrafts, visual arts, applied arts, blacksmithing and painting.
He had a talent for using art to beautify reality and alleviate people's suffering under the blockade of the Gaza Strip, al-Haj said.
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"He had always envisioned a long life dedicated to his art, a life where he could continue to create, inspire, and share his passion for beauty and resistance," he added.
Since 2016, Qareqa had volunteered and participated in various local art exhibitions and community institutions in Gaza, such as Dar al-Kalima and the Qatan Foundation.
One of his last contributions before the war in Gaza broke out in 2023 was “The City Shrapnel.” In this work, he and a group of young Palestinian artists represented Gaza’s archaeological landmarks and history, which had been altered due to the Israeli occupation, using engraving and printing techniques.
“He was the one who always came up with creative ideas and was tirelessly the most dynamic, helpful, and unique artist of the group,” said al-Haj, who co-founded the exhibit.
“He loved painting and often painted murals everywhere - on streets, in restaurants, companies, and schools.”
As a senior artist in Gaza, al-Haj had a gallery in Gaza City, which was also bombed during the war. It was a place where many artists, including Dorgham, would gather to catch up, paint, and plan future projects, despite the lack of resources during Gaza’s blockade.
“He used to share with me his thoughts about the colour of the walls of the gallery, the design of the decorations, and the details of the wood corners that we made together,” al-Haj recalled.
“He wished to have proper opportunities in Gaza to support his work, as he was the breadwinner for his six-member family.”
Multiple displacements
Qareqa was once awarded a scholarship by the local Palestinian cultural ministry in Gaza to develop an art collection based on his childhood memories, especially his deep connection with his mother.
When the war began in October 2023, Qareqa and his family evacuated their house in Shujaiya neighbourhood, eastern Gaza Strip, after receiving a warning leaflet from the Israeli military telling them to leave the area.
'He created an art community wherever he went'
- Yasmin Jarba, a Palestinian artist
With no place to go, he fled with his family to Al-Ahli Hospital, which was later targeted on 25 November 2023. He survived the massacre, but two of his four sisters were killed, and his mother was severely injured.
Qareqa and his family sought shelter at al-Haj’s gallery in Al-Shifa neighbourhood, western Gaza City, for two weeks, but his mother required urgent medical treatment that could not be found in northern Gaza.
They then evacuated to the southern part of the strip and stayed at the European Hospital in Khan Younis.
Luckily, Qareqa’s mother was evacuated to Egypt, but his journey of displacement and suffering continued as he was forced to move several times due to Israeli ground invasions in the southern strip.
Despite these hardships, he had not given up. He organised art activities and social events in the temporary shelters to help families and children cope with the trauma they were enduring.
“He created an art community wherever he went,” said Yasmin Jarba, a Palestinian artist and colleague of Dorgham, who now resides in Italy.
“He would teach children how to paint - even if there were no materials, he would use coloured mud, and sticks as paint brushes. He would form a group and teach them how to dance the dabka. He even organised plays for them.”
Jarba collaborated with Qareqa, with the help of Italy’s charity organisations, to set up a mobile cinema for the children to screen cartoons and funny movies, helping them heal from the constant suffering.
'Dorgham’s loss will leave a deep pain in our hearts, but his memories and his work will remain alive in all of us'
- Mohammed al-Haj, Palestinian artist
“Despite the ongoing displacement and losing his materials due to the surprise Israeli ground incursions, Qareqa insisted on starting again, turning his pain into a purpose to help those around him,” Yasmin said.
“He dreamed of traveling to Europe to pursue a master’s degree in arts, but due to the closure of the border crossing since April 2024, achieving this dream became difficult, if not impossible, for him and many Gazans.
“Nevertheless, he did not give up on personal and professional growth and dedicated his efforts to supporting his people, especially children suffering from severe psychological trauma.
“His last project was designing a puppet theatre for children, an extension of his previous initiative, Camp Cinema, which had lasted for a year, aiming to provide a safe space for them to express themselves and heal through art.”
'Artwork under the rubble'
When the ceasefire was announced between Hamas and Israel, Qareqa gathered all the money he had and married Aya, the woman he loved.
They, with his two siblings Khoulod and Bassam, planned to live in his house in Shujaiya, but they were shocked when they returned there to find that the house was now a pile of rubble.
He shared a post on social media: “After 15 months of displacement, I returned to Gaza to face an unbelievable and very difficult reality: my home and studio are completely destroyed by Israeli occupation attacks, and all the artworks I had prepared for my next exhibition, ‘Until My Wings Are Cut Off,’ have disappeared under the rubble.
"Those works were more than just paintings; they were a part of my soul, part of the dreams I had always wanted to share. What happened is not just the loss of things, but an attempt to erase memory, culture, and humanity. But as it is said: ‘Hope is not killed except by the death of the soul,’ and art is my soul, and it will not die.”
Two days before he was killed, Qareqa and al-Haj sat together in a small cafe in their usual spot in Al-Rimal neighbourhood, sharing coffee and laughter.
He was looking to buy a gift for his wife’s birthday, but with the limited options and rising costs, he found nothing affordable. Al-Haj recalled. “In the end, he bought her a soda - though even that had become expensive.”
On 4 March, after the ceasefire was broken, Israel launched attacks on dozens of targets, one of which was Qareqa’s neighbourhood. He, his wife Asma, his two siblings Khoulod and Bassam, and 13 members of his extended family were killed in the attack.
“Dorgham’s loss will leave a deep pain in our hearts, but his memories and his work will remain alive in all of us and with the people who had the chance to meet him,” said his friend al-Haj.
“Although most of his artwork is buried under the rubble, many Gazan artists will print what they can salvage from his work and organise a retrospective exhibition to show the world who ‘Van Gogh’s grandson’ really was.”
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