From the Al-Omari Mosque, the very first in Gaza, built in the 7the century, all that remains is certain sections of walls and the minaret. The building, built on the foundations of a Philistine temple, then a Byzantine church, was largely destroyed by an Israeli bombardment on December 8, 2023. Its library, built right next to it, and where rare manuscripts were kept, the most old ones date from the 14the century, suffered the same fate.
The same goes for the Pasha’s palace, which became a museum in 2010, built in Gaza on the orders of the Mamluk Sultan Baïbars in the 13th century.e century, and where Napoleon would have stayed: it was partly ravaged by Israeli bombs. In the chic neighborhood of Al-Rimal, in Gaza City, the Rashad-Shawa cultural center, a rare example of brutalist architecture in Palestine, which dates from the 1980s, was pulverized.
Greek cemeteries, Egyptian remains, Ottoman markets or Bauhaus buildings, “Gaza’s heritage is truly very important and, unfortunately, it has not received the attention it deserves in the past”, notes Raymond Bondin, Maltese expert on world heritage, who is particularly responsible for the conservation and management plan for the Gazan site of the monastery of Saint-Hilarion.
Satellite monitoring
In the enclave, these historic remains and places of life were witnesses to the rich history of this territory, once a crossroads between two continents and an important Mediterranean port. They have been lastingly devastated since the start of the Israeli offensive, launched after October 7, 2023, which killed more than 27,000 Palestinians. According to a report by Icomos, an NGO that works to conserve historic sites and monuments around the world, out of 350 places listed in Gaza, more than two hundred have been partially or completely destroyed.
The ancient Greek port of Anthédon, the first in the enclave, located north of Gaza City, and which appeared on an indicative list with a view to possible future classification as a World Heritage Site. Unesco, has thus “was almost completely destroyed”deplores Mr. Bondin.
Added to this are all the archaeological remains buried under the dense Gazan urban fabric. “The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities calculated that there were around a hundred important sites [encore à découvrir]. There are probably more of them. Not to mention the many houses from the Islamic and Ottoman period in Gaza City, some of which were really beautiful, and which were destroyed., regrets the expert. He judges that, unlike in Libya, where he worked, in Gaza the destruction also affects major historical sites.
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