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Makeshift Cinema in Gaza City Gives Children a Brief Escape From Devastation

06:47 PM, 12/05/2025
Makeshift Cinema in Gaza City Gives Children a Brief Escape From Devastation

Volunteers in a Gaza City displacement camp have set up a makeshift cinema to offer traumatised children brief moments of normalcy amid ongoing hostilities. Gaza health authorities report at least 20,000 child deaths and tens of thousands injured since October 7, 2023, and about 55,000 children have lost one or both parents. With roughly 92% of schools damaged or destroyed, these screenings are often the first chance many children have had to watch a film since the conflict began. Organisers and a local filmmaker say cinema provides emotional relief and a glimpse of hope.

Makeshift Screenings Offer Moments Of Normalcy For Children In Gaza

Volunteers in a displacement camp in Gaza City have erected a makeshift screen to show films to children who have lived through years of bombardment, repeated displacement and the loss of loved ones. The simple project aims to provide short but meaningful breaks from the daily trauma and destruction surrounding families in the enclave.

“We’re here trying to present so many activities for children to live in a positive vibe,” said Minass al-Jabour, the initiative’s media coordinator. “We are trying to make them skip the scenes, the hard scenes that they were living during the war in Gaza.”

“A child who has seen so much blood and loss can, through cinema, glimpse a better reality,”

Palestinian filmmaker Mustafa al-Nabih, who is participating in the project, said that art and film can help sustain hope and imagination. “Cinema transports a child into a world of imagination, love and beauty. It moves their mind, lets them reach for a distant horizon, and shows them colours, stories, and moments that take them out of the ruin around them,” he said.

According to figures released by Gaza’s health authorities, at least 20,000 children have been killed and tens of thousands more injured since October 7, 2023; they also report that roughly 55,000 children have lost one or both parents during the conflict. The authorities say about 92 percent of the enclave’s schools have been severely damaged or destroyed, leaving most children without formal education for the past two years.

For many camp residents, these screenings are the first opportunity to watch a movie since the conflict began. “This is something new for me. I came out of the war, and they are giving us many activities, including cinema … and we really enjoyed it,” said Sara Abu Sharbi, a displaced girl in the camp, as tents and rubble formed the backdrop.

Organisers say the initiative is small but important: it creates safe, supervised time for play and storytelling, and briefly restores a sense of childhood for children surrounded by loss. Humanitarian agencies say psychosocial and educational support — including safe recreational activities like these screenings — can play a meaningful role in helping displaced children cope with trauma.

Note: Casualty and damage figures are reported by Gaza’s health authorities and reflect the data they have published since October 7, 2023.

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