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Photos of ten members of the Balata family seen on the ruins of the home of Abdel Kareem Balata, Jabaliya refugee camp, Gaza Strip, September 14, 2014. 11 members of the family were killed in an Israeli shelling attack on July 29, 2014. Amid the victims were the near entire family of Naim Balata, who was killed along with his wife and six of his children. Only Ala Balata, 18, survived out of the family of Naim, who were in fact taking refugee in the home of Naim's brother, Abdelkarim. Also killed was the daughter of Abdelkarim, Adeel (17), and the brother of Abdelkarim Nasme together with his wife (Wafa) and his one-and-a-half years old son (Abdelkarim). During the seven-week Israeli military offensive, 2,131 Palestinians were killed, including 501 children, and an estimated 18,000 housing units have been either destroyed or severely damaged, leaving more than 108,000 people homeless.
The Activestills collective was established in 2005 by a group of documentary photographers, out of a strong conviction that photography is a vehicle for social change. We believe in the power of images to shape public attitudes and to raise awareness on issues that are generally absent from public discourse.
We view ourself as part of the struggle against all forms of oppression, racism, and violations of the basic right to freedom. We do work on various topics, including the grassroots movement and the popular struggle against the Israeli occupation, women’s rights, immigration, asylum-seekers, social justice, the siege on Gaza, and housing rights inside Israel.
