East Belfast artist unveils mural in memory of victims of October 7 attack in Israel

Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks in which Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 others hostage.

Israel has described the attack as worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Some 74,000 Gazans have been killed in the subsequent war between Israel and Hamas, with almost 500 Israeli soldiers also killed in Gaza.

The east Belfast art was unveiled yesterday at Castlereagh Street, Belfast, directly facing the Raven Social Club.

Acclaimed Belfast artist Dee Craig created the powerful community-based initiative to honour and remember the victims of the tragic events of October 7, while serving as a visible testament of solidarity with the Israeli people.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson spoke at the unveiling, which was also attended by members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and by Jeremy Michaelson, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

The MP said afternwards: “it's vivid. It's emotive and it reflects not only the horror of what occurred on October 7th, but the determination to stand against terrorism. I think it's important, and it was demonstrated by the turnout today, that there was wrong support for our local Jewish community.”

The mural was launched at Raven Social Club, but the crowds who attended were far larged than it could hold, he said.

The final location of the mural has yet to be decided and will depend on planning permission, he said.

Central to the mural's narrative is a profound expression of the local East Belfast community's deep solidarity with the Israeli victims of the attacks.

Northern Ireland Friends of Israel chair, Steven Jaffe, said: "Dee Craig's artwork provides a local touchstone for global grief, bringing the memory of what took place on October 7 directly into the fabric of Belfast's long established tradition of community-based art.

"Mural art in Belfast has always been a profound medium for expressing history, shared trauma, and collective memory. This piece is about honouring the innocent lives lost in Israel, showing the community's steadfast solidarity with the victims, and using the power of public art to ensure that history is neither forgotten nor erased."

He said the artwork depicts the "terrifying attack" on the Nova music festival and "the heart-rending image of the abduction of the Bibas mother and children by Hamas terrorists".

Beyond its deeply poignant message, he said, the art is set to become a significant new landmark mural for the city of Belfast.

He said the event was a gathering to “reflect, remember, and stand in continued solidarity with the victims of October 7th

Footage of terrified people at the Nova Music Festival festival circulated online after Hamas and other terrorists filmed themselves infiltrating the event and engaging in widespread murder, torture and rape. They murdered 344 civilians and 34 security personnel at the festival, with many more many more left wounded. The terror group also took 44 people hostage.

The plight of the Bibas family came to embody the profound sense of loss and grief in Israel after October 7.

Footage of a terrified 32-year-old Shiri Bibas clutching her two sons — 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel — as they were taken to Gaza by terrorists is seared into the country’s collective memory. Israel says forensic evidence shows the boys were killed by their captors' "bare hands" in November 2023. Hamas claimed the family was killed along with their guards in an Israeli airstrike.

David ‘Dee’ Craig, was born in Belfast in 1971 and is an internationally renowned award winning artist who specializes in large scale mural art.

He has a very successful studio with collectors worldwide, but dedicates most of his time to Mural Arts.

He is one of the country’s most prolific mural artists and his work can be seen throughout the UK, Ireland and across the globe.