Images by Palestinian photojournalist killed in Israeli airstrike enter the picture in Chicago

Ismail Abu Hatab glimpsed the Chicago skyline and a serene Lake Michigan a day before he was killed.

Admiring the image Matt Perry sent from Montrose Harbor that Sunday morning, Abu Hatab responded in kind with a 16-second video of his own view: the sun setting on a crowd gathered by the Mediterranean Sea filled with bathers splashing about and the echoes of children screaming in delight.

"Gaza is so beautiful," Perry texted back at 11:49 a.m. CST. "Yes," Abu Hatab, a photojournalist and filmmaker, agreed with his friend a minute after.

Less than 24 hours later, on June 30, Abu Hatab and more than three dozen other Palestinians were killed when Israel's military dropped a 500-pound bomb on the seaside Al-Baqa Cafe. The family-run spot was among the few businesses remaining in a decimated Gaza Strip where locals could access the internet and charge their phones.

It wasn't the first time Abu Hatab had been on the receiving end of Israel's wrath since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. As he edited footage in his office in Al-Ghifari Tower in November 2023, an airstrike caused an entire wall to collapse on him. Abu Hatab wasn't able to walk for 10 months.

The 32-year-old chose to stay in Gaza in spite of the physical and emotional trauma he endured, documenting life on the ground and encouraging fellow Palestinian creatives to share their stories on By Palestine, or ByPa, an online platform he co-founded.

"I know he dealt with a lot of heaviness and despair," Perry, a social worker from Bowmanville, said of Abu Hatab's harrowing experiences. "But in our interactions, all I saw was kindness, graciousness and optimism. He was an incredibly sweet and wonderful soul."

In their last correspondence, Perry and Abu Hatab discussed the possibility of organizing a mini film fest in Chicago in conjunction with Abu Hatab's immersive photography exhibition at Walls Turned Sideways, an art and community space in East Garfield Park dedicated to communities affected by incarceration.

While the larger cinematic plans may have been thwarted, a grief-stricken Perry and other Chicago-area supporters of Abu Hatab's work have been intent on ensuring the show will go on at the West Side gallery, at 2717 W. Madison St.

Opening night festivities were scheduled Saturday. And after this weekend's launch, the free "Between Sky and Sea" exhibit will remain on display at Walls Turned Sideways starting Thursday through Aug. 23.

"Between Sky and Sea," which debuted in Los Angeles in the spring, features Abu Hatab's videography and about 50 of his photographs placed near or on an installation — set up by Walls Turned Sideways participant Joseph Sorrentino and artists Ryan Griffis and Sarah Ross — resembling a refugee camp in Gaza.

An audio component simulating the sounds of the displaced and their tented environments by audio engineer Tariq Shihadah has also been incorporated into the visual display.

The collection of photographs, like the short beach clip Abu Hatab shared with Perry, captures Palestinians' resilience and their ability to move forward and seize joy in the face of violence and oppression.

One picture depicts a youth with his arms stretched out midair before he hits the water where more children wade. Another print shows two small smiling boys on a boat as a kite flies above makeshift homes adorned with tattered bed sheets and a clothesline.

Perry was mesmerized with the stills the moment he caught sight of them.

"I was obviously very taken with the quality of the photos," said Perry, who connected with Abu Hatab last year through a Germany-based friend acquainted with Abu Hatab's younger brother Ahmed.

"I wasn't seeing anything like that coming from elsewhere, be it from the media in Gaza and certainly not from media outside of Gaza."

The cameraman also left an impression on Ahmed Abu Hatab, who has been emulating his "idol" by working as a freelance multimedia artist in Germany.

The younger Abu Hatab flew to Turkey for vacation a week before Oct. 7. When he was unable to return home, he went to Europe. He hasn't seen his family since.

Ahmed Abu Hatab, 26, is certain his late brother will be remembered by "upcoming generations" as his exhibition will make its way to London next and other cities abroad.

Ismail Abu Hatab believed, "Art is the way that connects people to the truth," Ahmed Abu Hatab, told me in a Zoom call.

"He left the us in a better place," Ahmed Abu Hatab said in Arabic as ByPa co-founder Ghada Hamwi translated from Lebanon.

Ismail Abu Hatab conveyed to the world that "Gaza is not just about war," Hamwi said, joining the conversation.

That narrative, she hopes, will never die.

Rummana Hussain is a columnist and leads the opinion coverage at the Sun-Times.