Material loss Palestinians in the Gaza Strip suffered in three months from Israeli the bombings are unprecedented. Not only did they lose their homes, entire neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, but residents say another “immeasurable damage that cannot be undone” was the erasure of Gaza’s history.
Since the beginning of its war against Gaza On October 7, the Israeli army targeted and destroyed dozens of heritage sites, including historic churches and mosques, cultural museums and archaeological structures dating back thousands of years.
Key religious sites have been targeted by Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments across Gaza’s districts. Many of these sites had been transformed into shelters for displaced Palestinians at the time of the attack, leaving dozens of victims.
On October 18, St. Porphyry Greek Orthodox Church was damaged by an Israeli airstrike on the nearby 141-year-old site. Ahli Baptist Hospitalthe oldest hospital in the band.
Two days later, it was directly targeted by a strike which killed at least 16 people and injured dozens of others among the families taking refuge in the church.
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Randa Arteen, a Christian resident of Gaza, said the church was one of the few religious sites where she and her community prayed and spent religious holidays since Israel does not grant them permits to travel to Bethlehem by passage of Beit Hanoun (Erez) each. year.
“The churches in the Gaza Strip are not many, but they are all old and historic. So if a church is destroyed, it’s not actually just one church, it’s hundreds of years erased.” , said the 53-year-old woman. » told Middle East Eye.
“Unlike all other churches, we have a special spiritual connection with the Greek Orthodox Church in particular. It is a symbol of Palestinian Christians in Gaza, and indeed throughout Palestine.
“We used to attend at Christmas and light the tree with the children every year. It’s hard to believe that the few places available for Christians in Gaza are now destroyed.”
The nearly 900-year-old church, one of the oldest in the world, was one of three damaged churches in the entire strip.
“More than just a mosque”
In addition to churches, at least 114 mosques were destroyed and 200 others damaged in Gaza, including the 13th-century Othman Bin Qashqar Mosque in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood south of Gaza City and the medieval Grand Mosque in ‘Omari, the greatest and greatest. the oldest mosque in Gaza, located in the heart of the Old City in the east of Gaza City and dating from the 7th century.
Om Ahmed al-Saqqa, 64, who lives in the al-Shujaiyya neighborhood, a few kilometers from the Omari mosque, said she had prayed at the mosque since she was a child, especially during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Currently displaced in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, after her home was badly damaged, Saqqa said she was more saddened by the destruction of the mosque than her own home.
“I was born and have lived all my life in this neighborhood. When I was about six years old and throughout my childhood, my father would take me and my siblings every evening of Ramadan to perform the Taraweeh prayers in this mosque. … I kept my memories of childhood and adulthood there,” Saqqa told MEE.
“For us Palestinians, it is more than just a mosque. It is our history and our present. When we talk about Gaza, we talk about the Omari Mosque. We thought it would be impossible to harm such place, not only because it was a holy place, but also because of its rich history and its importance to Muslims and Christians around the world.”
The mosque, transformed from a Byzantine church, is considered one of the oldest in the world.
Near the Omari Mosque is Hammam al-Samra (Samra’s Bath), a notable and rare example of an Ottoman architectural site in Gaza.
On December 30, Israeli strikes directly hit the site, destroying Turkish-style features dating back more than 1,000 years.
Saint Hilarion
In a report published by Heritage for peace In November, documenting the impact of the Israeli war on Gaza’s cultural heritage, the organization said that at least 104 of the 195 architectural heritage sites it documented in the coastal enclave had been destroyed or damaged.
Failing to assess the damage on site, experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) claim to be monitoring the situation remotely “using satellite data and information that are transmitted to us by third parties, in coordination with its services. partners and UN agencies on the ground, as well as our office in Ramallah.
“It is hard to believe that the few places available for Christians in Gaza are now destroyed”
– Randa Arteen, Gaza resident
“UNESCO initiated remote monitoring of the damage at the beginning of October. As part of this remote monitoring, (we are) particularly concerned by the situation of the ruins of Saint Hilarion, inscribed on the National Tentative List of World Heritage in 2012 .These are the remains of one of the first Christian monasteries in the region,” a UNESCO spokesperson told MEE, requesting anonymity.
The ruins of Saint Hilarion are part of the Tell Umm Amer site, located in the al-Nussairat camp, in the center of the Gaza Strip. The site was seriously damaged by Israeli bombing.
“The conflict in the Gaza Strip has caused a serious humanitarian crisis affecting all aspects of civilian life. As has been publicly stated on several occasions, UNESCO is seriously concerned about this impact on education, culture and the protection of journalists – the pillars of its mandate. ” he said.
“While humanitarian emergencies are a legitimate priority, the protection of cultural heritage in all its forms – as well as the protection of educational and media infrastructure – must also be ensured, in accordance with international law which stipulates that cultural property is civil infrastructure. and as such should neither be targeted nor used for military purposes. »
War against the past, present and future
Another notable casualty of the airstrikes in Gaza City was Central Archives Buildingwhich was destroyed on November 29.
Managed by the Gaza Municipality, the building contained thousands of historical documents and national records on Gaza, dating back over 100 years.
Additionally, at least three museums were destroyed or seriously damaged, including the government-run Basha Palace Museum, which dates from the 13th century and was directly targeted.
“It is as if they are launching attacks with the intention of destroying not only our present and our future, but also our past”
– Mohammed Abulehia, founder of the Qarara Museum
In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, the al-Qarara cultural museum was repeatedly damaged by Israeli airstrikes on adjacent houses.
Mohammed Abulehia, who established the museum in 2016, says barrel bombs were dropped on and near the neighborhood, severely damaging the building and collection.
“The museum contained a collection of over 5,000 items, including antiquities and objects dating back to the Canaanite period. I collected them and made immense efforts to create the museum to protect and preserve Gaza’s heritage,” Abulehia told MEE.
“Israeli occupying forces dropped heavy bombs on a house very close to the museum. Due to the massive explosion and atmospheric pressure, the museum was severely affected and many objects were destroyed or lost.”
Abulehia, who was unable to go to the museum to inspect the damage from the move, says he expects to find it completely or severely damaged when he returns.
“After the first attack, I am sure that several more attacks damaged the museum again. However, I cannot access it currently since I was moved to Rafah.
The situation in Khan Younis and in the area where the museum is located in particular is very dangerous, he added. “It has been under intense Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardment for weeks. No one can reach it.”
Abulehia said the damage caused by the war was immense, at all levels of Gazan society, both material and moral.
“It’s as if they are launching these attacks with the intention of destroying not only our present and our future, but also our past.”
This article is available in French on French edition of Middle East Eye.
