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# Gaza Artist Killed With Her Children in Israeli Airstrike
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/gaza-artist-heba-zagout-killed-with-her-children-in-israeli-airstrike/
- Published: 2023-10-16T22:22:55.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:09:29.000Z
- Description: The 39-year-old artist had two young boys and worked at a public school.
- Author: Elaine Velie
- Tags: News, Featured, Palestine, Palestinian, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-large, #Import 2025-11-24 09:29 (2023, 2024, part 1)

Palestinian artist Heba Zagout was killed with her two young children in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Friday, October 13, her sister confirmed on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/maysaa1010/videos/338735372043666/). The 39-year-old artist's death was also reported by the Palestinian publication [*Arabs48*](https://www.arab48.com/%D9%81%D8%B3%D8%AD%D8%A9/%D8%A8%D8%B5%D8%B1/%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%84/2023/10/15/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B2%D9%82%D9%88%D8%AA-%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%84-%D8%A5%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A?fbclid=IwAR3ueKM7RQeJszOJEzaZOQt9p1hCtnpVklp--U5botDoYzyVidnDpSIE8Us&ref=hyperallergic.com).

Zagout studied fine art at Gaza's Al-Aqsa University and was trained in graphic design. She amassed a large following on [social media](https://www.instagram.com/zagoutheba/?hl=en&ref=hyperallergic.com) for her vibrant paintings of Palestinian landscapes and people, especially her depictions of scenes from Gaza and Jerusalem.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2023/10/image-1.png)

Palestinian artist Heba Zagout posted a 2020 painting of a woman holding a peace dove not long before her death from an Israeli airstrike. (screenshot by <i>Hyperallergic</i> via Instagram)

"I tried to express the negative feelings, emotions, and tensions that occur in Gaza," she said about her work in an [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXhJKUepDZc&ref=hyperallergic.com) that was released approximately two weeks before her death. “I consider art a message that I deliver to the outside world through my expression of the Palestinian cause and Palestinian identity.”

Zagout worked as a public school [teacher](https://outsidein.org.uk/galleries/heba-zaqout/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and was previously employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

At least [2,865 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker?ref=hyperallergic.com) have been killed since Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on October 7\. These figures are [expected to rise](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-death-toll-rises-bodies-are-stored-ice-cream-trucks-2023-10-15/?ref=hyperallergic.com) as Israel prepares for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.