Photos of the Gaza Genocide at the Thyssen Museum to Raise Awareness

'Palestine is Everywhere'. We take the title of this recently published book by the TBA21 Foundation to open this chronicle, which tells how the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid has taken a new step forward in the cultural world's commitment to defending Palestine against the genocide being committed by Israel. The Thyssen Museum, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the European Commission's Department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) present 'Gaza Through Their Eyes', an exhibition that brings together thirty photographs taken by photojournalists who, since October 2023, have been documenting life in Gaza under the Zionist siege.

Guillermo Solana, the museum's artistic director, made clear the objective of this exhibition, open in the lobby until October 19 (free admission): "It is a necessary and urgent exhibition of Palestinian photojournalists who live, work... and die in Gaza. They document the suffering and daily life in that territory, how they manage to survive amidst the immense devastation. These are photos that may serve as testimony in a future war crimes trial." “This exhibition is a tribute to those journalists, who risk their lives to document what is happening. In fact, these are photos that cannot be signed, and we are exhibiting them anonymously, because revealing the authors could further endanger their lives, as they are direct targets of the occupying army. It is also a tribute to UNRWA, which prepared this selection of photos, wrote the accompanying texts, and proposed their exhibition to us. Since 1949, this United Nations agency has carried out sustained and impressive work to aid six million Palestinians. Thus, this exhibition is a great tribute to this agency, which has been repeatedly slandered and defamed. And it also aims to be a wake-up call, a warning, to continue raising awareness, to continue opening the eyes of people who are still asleep or looking the other way regarding what is happening in Palestine.” Or—the undersigned adds—they publicize their support for Israel, bought off by powerful Zionist lobbies, as is the case with the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, increasingly isolated and enraged in her support for the genocidal state.

She was followed at the press presentation last Tuesday by Raquel Martí, executive director of UNRWA Spain, who thanked the Thyssen team for their absolute willingness to set up the exhibition in record time, emphasizing: "Although they have even passed laws to impede our work, Israel must be clear that UNRWA will continue working for the Palestinians until the end." She recalled that the international press has been banned from Gaza since the massacre began and that the Zionist army has already killed more than 240 journalists, more deaths than in both World Wars combined, "and 360 UNRWA colleagues." Furthermore, "it has destroyed 85% of our facilities in Gaza. We are a military target, but let it be clear to them that we will continue despite all the obstacles."

Among these obstacles, he mentioned the withdrawal of the US contribution, ordered by Donald Trump, which represented a third of its budget (€400 million annually); "Right now, it is the EU countries that make the largest contribution to our agency." UNRWA has 33,000 workers; 12,000 of them in Gaza and 4,000 in the West Bank, and Martí issued a worrying warning: "If there are no extraordinary contributions, we will only have funds for two months." Finally, he thanked the Pedro Sánchez government for making Spain one of the countries that has most increased its contribution to UNRWA in the last year. The photos do not show children who are emaciated by famine, nor corpses, nor blood, nor people with amputated limbs, nor humiliated disabled people… but they do document a clear will to exterminate on the part of the Zionist government, which has decided to force its country into a very specific place in history: one of horror and contempt among the vast majority of the world's population. A sad honor, now very difficult to restore.

The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, also attended the opening of this necessary and urgent exhibition, which coincided with the Council of Ministers' approval of the Royal Decree prohibiting the arms trade with Israel. He said: "UNRWA's work in Gaza is heroic; there are not enough words to thank them." He emphasized that the world of culture "must give a voice to those who are silenced and make known the dignity of a suffering people."

And he emphasized that, through his eyes, Gaza is "a testimony and a resistance, and a call to awaken consciences." He concluded by clearly using the word genocide and making room for commitment and hope: "There is always a path to peace." More than 360 UNRWA members killed

The press release issued by Thyssen/UNRWA leaves no room for any debate about nuances or denials: “For almost two years, the Gaza Strip, an area only 365 square kilometers (a little more than half the size of the city of Madrid), has been devastated. Home to more than 2.1 million people, this besieged enclave has endured almost constant bombardment, forced displacement, destruction, and the collapse of basic services. Families face fear, hunger, dehydration, and loss, with little access to food, clean water, medicine, and shelter. The destruction in Gaza is apocalyptic. Entire neighborhoods and cities have been razed to the ground. Israeli military operations have widely targeted civilian buildings, including homes, hospitals, schools, and United Nations facilities. All are protected by international humanitarian law. So are humanitarian workers, whose work is essential to providing lifesaving aid to the Palestinians.” the civilian population during crises. More than 360 UNRWA team members have been killed in Gaza, some of them while carrying out their work. Many were killed along with their family members: entire families have been wiped out.

UNRWA has been serving the people of Gaza for decades, providing education, healthcare, protection, vocational training, psychosocial support, and humanitarian aid. Since October 2023, it has focused its work on responding to the emergency: schools have been converted into shelters, and more than 12,000 staff—many of them also displaced—continue to provide lifesaving assistance. The support of the European Union and its citizens has been crucial: providing water, sanitation, and hygiene; psychological support and educational activities for children; logistics, storage of humanitarian supplies or essential shelter items for displaced families; and collaborating with photojournalists to document the situation. Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities continue to ban international media from entering Gaza, and more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed. Despite Through this, and often at great personal risk, UNRWA photojournalists document life under siege. These are people who risk their lives to bear witness to what is happening in Gaza. However, you will not see their names next to the photographs on display, as this would pose a risk to their safety.
This exhibition is their perspective. It is the voice of Gaza. It is a call not to look the other way.”

Raquel Martí provided more details about the monstrosity Israel is committing, which will leave her name stained with blood for history: “Some of these photojournalists whose images we can now visit at the Thyssen Museum have lost their homes, and there is one in particular who has lost around thirty family members. We try to speak to them daily, and there are days when they cannot answer us, and we are attentive and worried that something might have happened to them; the loss of contact makes us always assume the worst.”
The images, as Solana emphasized, show absolute respect and empathy for the victims; And perhaps because they don't wallow in the pain, they are truly moving. Like the aerial view that focuses on the remains of a destroyed UNRWA health center in Gaza City. Or the photos that show children in hunger lines or endless lines to get water (Raquel Martí explained that Israel had decided to reduce the 400 humanitarian aid distribution points managed by the United Nations to just three, in the hands of US mercenaries, points that, moreover, often become death traps). Or those that show the constant forced displacements overnight of more than one and a half million people, who must leave their homes to go... where?, since there is no safe place in the Strip; the director of UNRWA pointed out that Israel has even banned the entry of tents into Gaza since the beginning of the year for those who have lost their homes... and everything.
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