Palestinian artist and husband killed on Christmas Day

Walaa Jumaa al-Afranji and Ahmed Saeed Salama were killed in an Israeli strike on their home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Wednesday morning.

The couple were pronounced dead after being taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following an Israeli attack on a residential building near the Ain Jalut Towers in Nuseirat.

Afranji, who was from Gaza City, had been displaced to the camp after Israel's war on the enclave began in October 2023. She was a novelist, artist and fashion enthusiast.

Before the war, Afranji worked at the well-known "Surprise" gift shop in the bustling Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. Rimal was once considered one of Gaza’s most prosperous areas but has been completely destroyed by Israeli bombardment.

Afranji also ran her own clothes company called "Fashion Room by Walaa". She was a professional calligrapher and artisan, creating handcrafted gifts such as photo frames, key rings and plant pots.

Her Instagram account, in which she showcased some of her work, had over 95,000 followers. In recent months, she used her account to document Israel's destruction of the Gaza Strip.

Including Afranji and her husband, at least 13 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the early hours of Christmas morning. Ten of them were killed, and several others injured, when a house was targeted in the Maen area of southern Khan Younis.