More than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks

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More than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/03/1216200754/gaza-heritage-sites-destroyed-israel

Chloe Veltman 2-Minute Listen


December 3, 2023 6:00 AM ET





In the weeks since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, and destroyed thousands of homes in the territory.

And there have also been tremendous losses to the region's ancient and globally significant cultural heritage. The region was a hub for commerce and culture under Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine rule. It remained influential for centuries thereafter.

A recent survey by the group Heritage for Peace details the damage done so far to more than 100 of these landmarks in Gaza since the start of the present conflict.

The casualties include the Great Omari Mosque, one of the most important and ancient mosques in historical Palestine; the Church of Saint Porphyrius, thought to be the third oldest church in the entire world; a 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery in northern Gaza excavated only last year; and the Rafah Museum, a space in southern Gaza which was dedicated to teaching about the territory's long and multi-layered heritage — until it was hammered by airstrikes early on in the conflict.................................................................




https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/12/01/gettyimages-1734348129_custom-8442f83d9b8539e5740121835dbae3b5becf2aa8-s800-c85.webp
Palestinians search the destroyed annex of the Church of Saint Porphyrius, damaged in a strike on Gaza City on Oct. 20.
Dawood Nemer/AFP via Getty Images