Gaza (TDI): Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza has led to the systematic destruction of the region’s rich historical and cultural heritage, with over 20,000 priceless artifacts looted from Gaza’s archaeological sites.
The attack, part of Israel’s two-year-long military campaign, has targeted numerous historical landmarks, erasing significant traces of Palestinian identity, according to officials.
Ismail al-Thawabteh, head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, condemned the Israeli destruction, stating that it was part of a deliberate policy to erase Palestinian history, Anadolu Agency reported.
“The Israeli army has systematically and extensively destroyed Gaza’s archaeological sites as part of a strategy to erase Palestinian identity,” Thawabteh told Anadolu on Monday.
Official reports confirm the extensive damage to more than 316 archaeological sites across Gaza, including buildings dating back to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, as well as early Islamic and Byzantine-era structures. The iconic Qasr al-Basha, a Mamluk-era palace located on a UNESCO heritage site in Gaza’s Old City, was one of the most significant casualties. Built around 800 BC, the palace sustained severe damage, with over 70% of it destroyed in the recent attacks.
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Experts, including Hamouda Al-Dahdar, a cultural heritage specialist, emphasized the extent of the damage. Al-Dahdar confirmed that technicians and workers are still attempting to recover what remains of Gaza’s cultural heritage, using basic tools to salvage any remaining artifacts. He stressed that the destruction of Gaza’s heritage was not just an act of violence, but also an organized looting operation, a crime under international law.
“The looting and destruction of Gaza’s heritage represent a grave cultural crime,” Thawabteh said, “It is an assault on global cultural heritage and Palestinian national identity.” Thousands of rare artifacts dating from the prehistoric era to the Ottoman period have vanished during the ongoing conflict.
The Qasr al-Basha palace, a symbol of Palestinian history, had already faced destruction during earlier Israeli military campaigns, but it was restored in 1994 by the Palestinian Authority after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza under the Oslo Accords. The palace was later turned into a museum, housing valuable historical collections. However, these efforts have been reversed in the recent escalation, with looted artifacts lost to the rubble.
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Gaza’s residents have endured unimaginable hardships throughout the ongoing conflict, with over 69,000 Palestinians killed, many of them women and children, and more than 170,700 injured. As the war continues to devastate the region, the loss of Gaza’s historical and cultural heritage marks an irreplaceable blow to Palestinian identity and the shared human legacy of the Middle East.
