**** This article is a collaboration between IHP and Sthaapatya Samvad. We wanted to draw the attention of the Indian heritage community to the loss of cultural heritage in Gaza. We believe heritage and culture belong to all and we all are its caretakers.****

Since the war started in October 2023, thousands of people living in Gaza have been killed. The collateral damage of this ongoing war is cultural and heritage sites. Gaza is one of the world’s longest-inhabited places. It has been home to people of different religious backgrounds and ethnicities since the 15th century BC.

The loss of Gaza’s heritage is also a loss of our sense of shared past, for Gaza was the crossroads of civilisation through which trade routes passed. Marc-André Haldimann, who curated an exhibition in a Geneva museum in 2007 titled, “Gaza at the Crossroads of Civilisations” said, “Gaza was built up by many civilisations. Starting from Egypt, Mesopotamia, then Greek and Roman civilisations, Persian and Arabic, all overlapping and mixing together”.

South Africa has alleged Israel of several war crimes including the destruction of its cultural heritage in its lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It states, “Israel has damaged and destroyed numerous centres of Palestinian learning and culture. According to the application, these sites include libraries, religious sites and places of ancient historical importance.” Furthermore, South Africa has appealed to the ICJ to act urgently to prevent further severe and irreparable harm to the people and culture of Palestine, reported the Guardian.

In 1954, the Hague Convention was signed by many countries including Israel, which aimed at the ‘Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict’. The preamble of the 1954 Hague Convention reads, “Any damage to cultural property, irrespective of the people it belongs to, is a damage to the cultural heritage of all humanity, because every people contributes to the world’s culture”.

Israeli armed forces have destroyed more than 200 heritage sites of 325 registered heritage sites. The world is witnessing nothing short of an irreparable loss of our collective heritage, one of the tangible evidence of our shared past.

These sites include the Ancient Greek port of Anthedon which was also on the tentative list for possible UNESCO World Heritage Classification, 800-year-old Hamam al-Sammara, the region’s only functioning Turkish bath, Qasr Al-Basha aka Pasha’s Palace- state’s only govt run museum, Mansour’s community bookshop which was restored with much hardship after Israel bombing in 2021 have been destroyed again.

1. The ancient Greek port of Anthedon – the first in the enclave, north of Gaza City and which was on a tentative list for possible United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage classification – has been “almost completely destroyed,” Bondin said sadly. In the enclave, these relics and historic living spaces bear witness to the rich history of this territory, once a crossroads between two continents and an important Mediterranean port.

2. Hamam al-Sammara was a Turkish bathhouse dating to 1320 CE. It was the only functioning hamam in Gaza. It pre-dated Islam and was likely established by the Samaritans, a religious sect of ethnic Jews who lived in the Zeitoun area, also known as the Jewish Quarter. The area had a thriving Jewish community until Crusader rule in the 12th century. The last Palestinian Jewish family lived in the neighbourhood until the 1960s. The bathhouse was destroyed in December 2023 during one of many heavy bombings.

3. The Qasr Al Basha, also known as the Pasha’s Palace Museum, was Gaza’s only government-run museum. It was known for showcasing valuable artefacts that belong to the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic civilizations. The site was hit by Israeli air strikes on December 11, 2023. The attack damaged its walls, courtyard and gardens.

4. The Omari Mosque was named after the second caliph of Islam, Omar bin Khattab. It was built in the seventh century on top of the ruins of an ancient church from the early 400s. The church was built over the foundations of a pagan temple of the Canaanite fertility god, Dagon. A library was established inside the mosque in 1277 by Sultan Zahir Baybars. It housed rare manuscripts, including old copies of the Quran, biographies of Prophet Muhammad and ancient books on philosophy, medicine and Sufi mysticism. It boasted a collection of over 20,000 books and manuscripts.

The mosque was largely destroyed on December 7, 2023, during an Israeli airstrike. The airstrike also destroyed the library and its collection. However, a digital record of the collection survives. Last year the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library completed a digitisation project of these books and manuscripts. The collection is available virtually in their online Reading room.

According to Fadel Alatel, an archaeologist in Gaza, the status of several heritage sites including Khan Younis caravanserai, Deir el-Balah cemetery, and Ahmadiyyah Zawiya mosque is still unknown as the situation of the ground keeps changing and the perils of the war have made it difficult for photographers to visit these sites.

International reactions

ICOM was one of the earliest heritage organisations to address the issue of the destruction of cultural heritage. ICOM in its statement on October 21, 2023, expressed its condolences to the victims of the conflict and warned the international community about a potential increase in the smuggling and destruction of cultural objects due to the war, citing international legal obligations that work to prevent the illicit import, export, and transfer of cultural property, such as the 1970 Unesco Convention and the 1995 Unidroit Convention.

“Icom thus expects an immediate ceasefire in respect of international humanitarian law in order to prevent further loss of human life and safeguard cultural heritage – which is essential to our collective humanity – and reaffirms its commitment to the principles of peace, understanding, and unity through the preservation and protection of cultural heritage”.

On January 25, UNESCO issued a list verifying damage to 22 sites in Gaza since the war began, including five religious sites, 10 buildings of historical and artistic interest, two depositories of moveable cultural property, one monument, one museum and three archaeological sites. This was followed by other international heritage organisations, such as ICON and the Museums Association, calling for peace and warring parties to adhere to international laws.

A shared future?

We live in a world where nations are marching towards hyper-nationalism, with increasingly rigid boundaries and walls, diminishing our hope to build a shared future.

The loss of tangible culture is followed by the loss of intangible culture. The Palestinian region has its own rich intangible culture. The customs, rituals, dance, music, and community programmes that mark the intangible culture have also vanished or are on the verge of vanishing as religious and cultural sites are destroyed.

The heritage of Gaza is one of the rare ancient sites that whispers the tale of a shared past, which can be a source of inspiration to strive towards a shared future in the face of growing hyper-nationalism. But 200+ out of 325 registered heritage sites have been destroyed by Israeli attacks.