The Thyssen Museum joins the global condemnation of the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.
The Thyssen Museum joins the global condemnation of the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.
The venue opens its temporary rooms to an exhibition that brings together the visual memory of thirty photographers who must remain anonymous.
▲ The exhibition also seeks to recognize UNRWA's humanitarian work. Pictured is the city under Israeli siege. Photo: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum / UNRWA
Armando G. Tejeda
Correspondent
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, September 6, 2025, p. 2
Madrid. The exhibition "Gaza Through Their Eyes" documents the tragedy and barbarity that the Gaza Strip has been suffering for almost two years, since the State of Israel began what many now define as genocide and ethnic cleansing. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid will host this exhibition, which opens on September 23rd, in its temporary exhibition halls, which usually house contemporary paintings and sculptures. These images, which chronicle the daily drama of a besieged population, were taken by around thirty anonymous photojournalists who cannot reveal their identities because this would pose a risk to their safety and their work.
The project was jointly organized by the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the European Commission's Department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. The project aims to present, through visual memory, the transformation and destruction of the Gaza Strip from October 2023 to the present. During this period, these photojournalists have experienced firsthand the devastation of the bombing, the hunger caused by shortages, and the desperation caused by oppression. This is in addition to the public and completely unpunished murders of 360 UNRWA humanitarian workers.
The exhibition will be one of the highlights of this fall at the Madrid museum, which has also decided to waive admission charges for visitors attending the show.
In their explanatory note, the organizations collaborating on Gaza Through Their Eyes report that “for nearly two years, the Gaza Strip, an area just 365 square kilometers in size, has been devastated. Home to more than 2.1 million people, this besieged enclave has endured near-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, or shelter.”
“Entire families have been wiped out”
They are more explicit, detailing that "the destruction of Gaza is apocalyptic. Entire neighborhoods and cities have been razed. Israeli military operations have widely targeted civilian buildings, including homes, hospitals, schools, and United Nations facilities. All of these are protected by international humanitarian law. So are humanitarian workers, whose work is essential to providing lifesaving aid to the civilian population during crises.
“More than 360 UNRWA staff members have been killed in Gaza, some of them in the line of duty. Many were killed along with their families; entire families have been wiped out.”
The exhibition also seeks to recognize the humanitarian work of organizations such as UNRWA, which has been developing programs in Gaza for decades, providing education, healthcare, protection, vocational training, psychosocial support, and humanitarian aid. Since October 2023, it has focused its efforts on responding to the emergency: schools have been converted into shelters, and more than 12,000 workers, many of them also displaced, continue to provide vital assistance.
This international organization, which is largely funded by the European Union (EU), emphasized that part of these emergency solidarity resources are used to document the horror through the cameras of photojournalists who have to work anonymously and deliver their work to UNRWA. "The Israeli authorities continue to prohibit international media from entering Gaza, and more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed.
“Despite 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 won't see their names next to the photographs on display, as this would pose a risk to their safety.” So, they explain, “this exhibition is their perspective. It is the voice of Gaza. It is a call not to look away.”
The exhibition will be open to the public until October 19.
▲ Since October 2023, the Gaza Strip has suffered “apocalyptic destruction.” Home to more than 2.1 million people, this besieged area of 365 square kilometers has endured incessant bombing, forced displacement, destruction, and the collapse of basic services. Due to the Israeli army's siege, entire families face fear, hunger, dehydration, and death. Now, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid is showcasing images captured by around thirty photographers who cannot reveal their identities to safeguard their integrity, as “the Israeli authorities prohibit the entry of international media and more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed,” according to the explanatory note accompanying the exhibition Gaza Through Their Eyes, to which the images on these pages correspond. Photo: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum / UNRWA
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, September 6, 2025, p. 3
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