BUREIJ, Gaza Strip (AP) — Young Palestinian artists in Gaza staged an impromptu exhibit on Tuesday, seeking another way to show the world what has happened during the war and the fragile ceasefire.
The row of paintings, like much of Gaza life itself, was displayed outdoors, open to the weather and curious stares. There was a painting of a dove, a bullet hole, a person’s silhouette in a territory where the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group has killed well over 70,000 people.
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People look at paintings by Palestinian artists during an exhibition in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian civil defense crews work on a destroyed car after it was struck in an Israeli strike in Gaza City Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians gather around the bodies of Iyad, Al-Shambari and his son Salah, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City , Tuesday, April 28, 2026 (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Children look at paintings by Palestinian artists during an exhibition in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People look at paintings by Palestinian artists during an exhibition in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
It was a sunny day in Bureij in central Gaza. Children shouted and played as admirers of the paintings took photos and reflected.
“They painted their feelings, their ambitions, their hopes, their visions, over four months during a continuous workshop in my studio,” said Ghanem Al-Din, who organized the exhibit of dozens of paintings.
Obay Al-Qarshali, 21, was one of the artists. He said he fled his home in Gaza City in late 2023 after the war began, sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. He took only what he could in his hurry, leaving over 30 of his paintings behind.
They are now lost in the bombing and destruction, he said.
His painting on display showed broken glass, cars topped with mattresses and other belongings and the debris of buildings. All are too familiar for him and hundreds of thousands of fellow Palestinians who have been displaced, often more than once.
Al-Qarshali said he had changed locations at least seven times in the war.
“Because of how much we were displaced and suffered in moving and carrying our belongings, the tents, the crowds, and so much more, I wanted to express something that deeply troubled me: that we left our homes and our safe places, forced to flee, scatter, and change our location. This piece expresses so much,” he said.
The timing of next steps in Gaza's ceasefire is unclear. The disarming of Hamas is a major challenge before the territory’s shift in governance, stabilization and reconstruction can begin in earnest.
“Critical demilitarization talks with Hamas are continuing," former British prime minister Tony Blair, a key member of the U.S.-created Board of Peace meant to focus on Gaza, told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday.
Reconstruction likely will cost over $70 billion and take a decade, a report by the United Nations and the European Union said last week.
It said Gaza’s economy has contracted by 84%. More than 371,000 housing units have been destroyed. Over half of Gaza’s hospitals are “non-functional.” Nearly all schools are destroyed or damaged in the territory of over 2 million people.
In a report on Tuesday, Doctors Without Borders said Israel has destroyed or damaged about 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. And a Mercy Corps study found only 7% of Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure remains functional.
While large-scale fighting has eased since the ceasefire took effect in October, Israeli forces have continued near-daily strikes and fire around military-held zones, killing over 800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.
On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in Gaza City, killing four men, according to Shifa Hospital.
The strike happened away from the so-called Yellow Line that separates Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza. Israel’s military said it struck a “terrorist” in the location, with no details.
The bodies were wrapped in white and placed on the ground, outdoors, so a crowd could mourn.
And a 9-year-old boy was killed by Israeli fire while gathering firewood in the southern city of Khan Younis, about 400 meters (1,312 feet) west of the Yellow Line, Nasser Hospital said. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.
Associated Press video showed siblings crying over the boy at the morgue.
“What is the guilt of those children,” a woman said during the funeral. “God is plaguing you, Israel.”
People look at paintings by Palestinian artists during an exhibition in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian civil defense crews work on a destroyed car after it was struck in an Israeli strike in Gaza City Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians gather around the bodies of Iyad, Al-Shambari and his son Salah, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City , Tuesday, April 28, 2026 (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Children look at paintings by Palestinian artists during an exhibition in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People look at paintings by Palestinian artists during an exhibition in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
WASHINGTON (AP) — King Charles III acknowledged “times of great uncertainty” as he expressed gratitude to the American people and marked the 250th anniversary of independence from Britain in a speech to the U.S. Congress that highlighted the bonds between the two countries at a time of political turmoil.
“For all that time,” Charles said, “our destinies have been interlinked.”
Charles is only the second British monarch to address a joint session of Congress. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered a similar speech in 1991 highlighting the historic ties between both countries and the importance of their democratic values.
The king picked up on those themes during his remarks on Tuesday, which were delivered in a far different environment than when his mother spoke to the same chamber in the U.S. Capitol. President Donald Trump is in open conflict with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the war in Iran. Many of the lawmakers in the room were at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, which was disrupted by a shooting that authorities have described as an attempted assassination against Trump.
“Let me say with unshakeable resolve,” Charles said. “Such acts of violence will never succeed.”
The king began his day at the White House, where he and Trump greeted each other warmly during a ceremony on the South Lawn. Appearing under gray, drizzly skies, Trump quipped that it was a “beautiful British day” before shifting his focus to the shared history of the U.S. and U.K.
Making no mention of his dispute with Starmer, Trump drew a line from King John’s sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215 to the American Revolution.
“American patriots today can sing, ’My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty,’ only because our colonial ancestors first sang, ‘God save the King,’” Trump said.
The two leaders huddled in the Oval Office for a meeting that was closed to the public, reducing the potential for the freewheeling, sometimes controversial meetings with foreign officials that have become routine during Trump’s second term. Afterward, Trump said it was a “really good meeting” and Charles is a “fantastic person.”
Trump’s up-and-down relationship with Starmer has taken a particularly sour turn over the past several months as the Republican president has sought to rally international support for the war in Iran. Trump criticized Starmer, who has largely resisted his overtures, by saying “this is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with.”
Trump has also imposed tariffs on the U.K. and warned of additional levies despite a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that has made such unilateral moves more challenging. Trump threatened just last week to slap a “big tariff” on the U.K. if it doesn't scrap a digital services tax on U.S. technology companies.
Trump has more broadly challenged the traditional trans-Atlantic alliance with efforts to annex Greenland and threats to walk away from NATO. He has repeatedly imposed tariffs on and taunted Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York blamed Republican policies on Monday for straining the U.S.-U.K. relationship.
“Hopefully, the king’s visit is going to go a long way toward repairing the damage that this administration has done to one of our most important allies in the world,” Jeffries said.
Meanwhile, Charles has faced some calls on Capitol Hill to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein while he is in the U.S. There's no indication that he will do so even as the scandal involving the convicted sex offender has ensnared his brother, who was arrested in February over misconduct allegations, which he denies.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who has been a leader of the push on Capitol Hill for a reckoning over Epstein, said he was told by the British ambassador to the U.S. that there would be an acknowledgment of the survivors during the congressional address.
Charles and Camilla arrived at the nation's capital on Monday and held a tea with the president and first lady Melania Trump. The royal couple will continue their U.S. trip later this week with stops in New York City and Virginia.
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Washington and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump and Britain's King Charles III meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington, during a State Visit, with Britain's Ambassador to the U.S. Christian Turner, Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Britain's King Charles III listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave from the Blue Room Balcony during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, center left, speaks with Britain's King Charles III along with first lady Melania Trump, left, and Queen Camilla during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Queen Camilla, King Charles III, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump and Britain's King Charles III, stand together during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Britain's King Charles III talks President Donald Trump during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla stand on the Blue room Balcony during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, Britain's King Charles III, first lady Melania Trump and stand on stage during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump, from left, King Charles III, first lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla stand for the national anthems of their respective countries during an arrival ceremony among others on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump and Britain's King Charles III are seated on stage during a State Visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Staff members prepare the South Lawn before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcome Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a State Visit arrival ceremony at White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump and Britain's King Charles III turn to walk into the White House, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet King Charles III and Queen Camilla as they arrive at the White House, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump along with Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla walk on the South Lawn to visit the White House garden and bee hive at the White House, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
President Donald Trump and Britain's King Charles III talk at the White House, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., talks with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband Paul before Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at a garden party at the British Embassy, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool via AP)
Britain's King Charles III talks with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller during a garden party at the British Embassy, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool via AP)
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at a garden party at the British Embassy, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Washington. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool via AP)
