New Delhi: A photograph by Omar Ashtawy featuring Palestinian children watching Disney’s 1994 animated feature film The Lion King in Gaza has gone viral.
First shared by the official X account of the United Nations Palestine mission, the photo shows the children gathered among destroyed buildings and rubble to watch an outdoor screening of the film at sunset.
The widely shared photo highlights the stark contrast between the magic of childhood films and the harsh reality of war.
“Heartbreaking photo of Palestinian children in Gaza watching The Lion King,” reads one X post.
The outdoor screening of The Lion King was organised by the Masharawi Fund for Films and Filmmakers as part of their mobile cinemas initiative called Little Wings.
“The initiative provides children with a recreational space amid the difficult conditions and widespread destruction caused by the war between Israel and Hamas,” wrote Ashtawy on Instagram.
“Palestinian children watching The Lion King in the ruins of Gaza a brief spell of happiness & joy in a sea of misery,” posted another X user.
Humanitarian crisis
More than 64,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza. Others face an unprecedented humanitarian crisis marked by mass displacement, starvation and the total collapse of health and educational systems.
A UN Independent Commission of Inquiry report concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children.
According to UNICEF, in the 300 days since the announcement of a ceasefire in October 2025, at least 300 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip.
“A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children. With hundreds more children injured, many severely, children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder in a statement.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)