On 24 March 2025, the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, in collaboration with Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh, published Safaa and the Tent.
Translated by Nada Hodali, the book is a collection of cartoons by Palestinian artist Safaa Odah, created between October 2023 and December 2024, during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“My book Safaa and the Tent is a collection of comics and illustrated stories that depict the painful reality I have experienced since the beginning of the war. Most of the drawings reflect daily scenes of the genocide that has been ongoing in Gaza for eighteen months,” Safaa shares with The New Arab amid shelling and communication difficulties.
Joe Sacco, cartoonist and journalist best known for his 1996 American Book Award-winning graphic novel Palestine, has praised Safaa’s cartoons, calling them “some of the most powerful and poignant images to come out of Gaza.”
Like many others in Gaza, Safaa has been displaced by Israeli bombings. For the past eleven months, she has lived in Khan Younis in a tent that, after the destruction of her home in Rafah, has become both a new home and a workspace.
While continuing to create comics with pen and paper, she has also used the sides and fabric of the tent as an alternative medium for her illustrations.
“I had a drawing tablet,” Safaa explains, “but since the war began, and due to constant power outages, my drawings have been limited to pen and paper. I drew on the tent sides because my country is under a severe blockade by Israel, and the tools needed to draw are scarce. I could not find paper, so I had to draw on the tent fabric to convey my messages and communicate the suffering we are experiencing. The tent became the only medium available at the time.”
Turning art into a powerful rebuttal
For Safaa, her work is centred on promoting better physical and mental health, aiming to impact both Palestinian audiences and a broader global community positively.
Despite being displaced several times, Safaa continues to create drawings from inside the tent, sharing her images on her Instagram account.
Reflecting on the moment last summer when she learned her home had been completely destroyed, Safaa shares, “While I know that none of the houses in Gaza will remain standing, this news hit me like a brick. A house is not simply a dwelling to live in. It is our homeland. My home is the sacrifice of my parents, who have been expatriates for more than 40 years.
“They went through all this just to build a simple house. Today, all our memories have been shattered, destroyed, scattered, maybe even buried.
“My story is no different from that of any person in distress or affected by war; we have many similarities. I realised that we are walking in a dark labyrinth, a labyrinth without borders.”
Amid these challenges, Safaa has persisted in documenting the collective punishment Gaza faces, as well as the personal tragedies of thousands of displaced Palestinians.
“Safaa Odah stood against the brutality of genocide with unfiltered sincerity,” says Mohammad.
He adds, “Through raw instinct, she dismantled the official narrative that sought to dehumanise Palestinians, turning her art into a powerful rebuttal.
“When paper became as scarce as bread, safety, and solace, she did not stop – her tent became her new canvas, bearing witness to a resilience that could not be erased.
“We, as Palestinians, know well that Naji al-Ali, the legendary cartoonist assassinated in London in 1987, also began his artistic journey on his tent fabric.”
Cartooning amid genocide
As Safaa puts it, Safaa and the Tent is a journey into the world of cartooning during the Gaza genocide.
The images capture the various crises Palestinians are facing: grief, defiance, resilience, helplessness, poverty, corruption, and murder.
“It’s an honest book by an artist who documented the reality inside the tent,” she says.
She continues, “My drawing style is simple and uncomplicated: black ink on white paper with blue shading.
“It’s a characteristic that sets me apart from other artists; many people recognise my work without even seeing my signature. I wanted my book to reflect my unique style and artistic identity.”
As Safaa reflects on the escalating violence in Gaza, she acknowledges that the bombings following the ceasefire have become far more destructive.
“We have noticed the difference,” Safaa says. “The sound of the rockets and the extent of the destruction prove it. Recently, I could not sleep because of the constant explosions in Khan Younis and Rafah.”
With the genocide continuing and the situation worsening, Safaa is already contemplating her future.
“We don’t know exactly what lies ahead,” she admits. “However, I will try to leave my city because basic necessities are no longer available, and I will try to make a life elsewhere.”
Giovanni Vigna is a freelance Italian journalist with a focus on Middle Eastern and global politics
