Made of fiberglass and covered with clay, the sculptures, some with splashed with blood-red paint, show a barefoot woman, her features barely discernible, carrying a naked child. Next to her is an old man leaning on a stick, a dishevelled boy in his arms.

Gaza (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Sculptures in the ruins of Gaza (pictured) represent the suffering caused by war. Their author, arts professor Iyyad Sabbah of Al-Aqsa University, placed them in the strip's eastern Shejaiya district, not far from the border with Israel.

The sculptures are made of fibreglass and covered with clay, some splashed with blood-red paint. They show a barefoot woman, her features barely discernible, carrying a naked child; next to her, an old man leaning on a stick, a dishevelled little boy in his arms.

"These statues are a new form of art by giving form to the suffering of Gazans," the artist told Middle East on line.

"With this project I am speaking about people's flight from their homes during the war," Sabbah explained.

"I'm trying to shine a spotlight on the crimes which the Israelis committed here."

With these statues, which put a face on suffering, he also hopes to "send a message to Israel that it has destroyed the humanity of Gazans by destroying their homes and their infrastructure."

"Politicians all talk about the reconstruction of Gaza and the physical destruction," Sabbah said.

"But I would like them to turn their attention to the damage caused at the human level, where we're talking about a psychological crisis affecting all Gazans."

• palestine
• gaza
• israel
• sculptures
• suffering