British graffiti artist Banksy, known for his subversive street art, released a two-minute video from war-torn Gaza on his website Wednesday.
“Make this the year you discover a new destination,” it wryly says, in the style of a tourism video. But instead of sandy beaches, it offers viewers a glimpse of what a Gazan sees “well away from the tourist track”: tunnels, rubble and children gazing at some of the 18,000 homes destroyed last July in Israel’s Operation Protective Edge.
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The video also spotlights several of Banksy’s latest graffiti pieces, including images of children swinging from a surveillance tower, a parent grieving over a child in a bombed-out setting, and a kitten donning a pink bow.
“A local man came up and said ‘Please — what does this mean?’ I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website — but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens,” Banksy writes.
“The cat found something to play with,” a Palestinian man says during the video. “What about our children?”
See Banksy’s Art From Around the World
The new Banksy depicting the painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer is see on a wall in Bristol Harbourside, England on Oct. 20, 2014.
Paul Green—Demotix/Corbis
A Banksy is seen near the headquarters of Britain's eavesdropping agency, Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ, in Cheltenham, England on April 16, 2014.
Eddie Keogh—Reuters
Banksy's 9/11 tribute featuring the Twin Towers located at Staple Street in TriBeCa, New York City, Oct. 16, 2013.
Nancy Kaszerman—Zumapress/Corbis
Banksy's "Waiting in vain...at the door of the club." is seen on a roll-down security gate covering the main entrance to Larry Flint's Hustler Club on October 24, 2013 in New York City.
John Moore—Getty Images
A Banksy depicting a silhouette of a hammer boy playing 'strong man' in the Upper West Side of new York City, October 20, 2013.
Dennis Van Tine—Geisler-Fotopres/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Builders walk past a Banksy on Pollard Street on November 1, 2007 in London, England.
Chris Jackson—Getty Images
A Banksy wall painting seen on the apartheid wall near Bethlehem on June 16, 2013 in central West Bank, Palestine.
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A graffiti titled "Balloon Debate" made by Banksy is seen on Israel's highly controversial West Bank barrier in Ramallah on August 6, 2005.
Marco Di Lauro—Getty Images
A Palestinian boy walks past a work by Banksy near the Kalandia checkpoint in the West Bank on August 10, 2005.
Ammar Awad—Reuters
A Banksy is seen on Israel's highly controversial West Bank barrier in Abu Dis on August 6, 2005.
Marco Di Lauro—Getty Images
Artwork by Banksy is seen on a wall during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, January 22, 2010.
Robert Galbraith—Reuters
Grafitti by Banksy adorns a building August 29, 2008 in New Orleans, La.
Chris Graythen—Getty Images
A Banksy depicting a child wielding a machine gun, in black and white surrounded by colored flowers, is spotted in Westwood, Ca. on February 17, 2011.
Gabriel Buoys—AFP/Getty Images
A Palestinian laborer works under a large wall painting by Banksy on December 5, 2007 in Bethlehem in the West Bank.
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Banksy's 'What we do in life echoes in Eternity' seen in New York City on Oct. 14, 2013.
Erik Pendzich —Demotix/Corbis
Banksy's "Crayon Foreclosure," seen in Los Angeles, Ca. on February 27, 2011.
Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images
Banksy's 'Sweeping It Under The Carpet' is seen in London, England on May 16, 2006.
Jim Dyson—Getty Images
A Banksy is seen on a wall next to the Regent's Canal, in Camden in London on December 22, 2009.
Luke MacGregor—Reuters
A Banksy appears in the neighborhood of Fitzrovia in London, England on October 6, 2011.
Jim Dyson—Getty Images
A Banksy is pictured in North London on August 20, 2012.
Jim Dyson—Getty Images
A Banksy is seen in East London, on December 20, 2011.
Jim Dyson—Getty Images
A mural by Banksy, which has been defaced by blue paint bombs, is seen on the side of a building in Park Street on March 4, 2013 in Bristol, England.
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A screen print titled 'Di Faced Tenners' showing the face of Princess Diana in place of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is one of ten Banksy pieces on display in Bonhams Auction House in London on Monday, Oct. 22, 2007
Cathal McNaughton—PA/AP
Banksy's Laugh Now is held by a Bonham's employee's during a viewing for the World's First Urban Art Auction at Bonham's on January 22, 2008 in London, England.
Daniel Berehulak—Getty Images
A work entitled "Banksus Militus Vandalus" is displayed in the first unauthorized retrospective of works by British graffiti artist Banksy in London on June 6, 2014.
Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images
Tai, a 38-year-old Asian elephant, painted by Banksy, is displayed at the "Barely Legal" exhibition at a warehouse near downtown Los Angeles on September 15, 2006.
Fred Prouser—Reuters
An employee signals a phone bid on Banksy's "Vandalised Phone Box" during Sotheby's "Red" benefit auction to raise funds for HIV/AIDS treatment in Africa in New York City on Feb 14, 2008.
Lucas Jackson—Reuters
A Banksy is seen in London, England on Dec. 12, 2004.
PYMCA/UIG/Getty Images
A Banksy inspired by Pulp Fiction is seen in London, England on Nov. 30, 2005.
PYMCA/UIG/Getty Images
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