One Year into the War on Gaza
Cultural Genocide as Part of the War: destruction that goes beyond buildings and people
Ramallah - National Library, October 7, 2024: The National Library of Palestine confirmed today that the Israeli occupation has committed war crimes and cultural genocide in the Gaza Strip over the past year. The impacts of these crimes extend beyond the destruction of property and artifacts, reaching into the identity, belonging, and collective memory of individuals.
The National Library has documented the damage inflicted on the cultural heritage during a year of ongoing war in Gaza, noting that all figures and statistics represent a minimum estimate, as the genocide has not yet ceased. The United Nations has described the destruction in Gaza as unprecedented since World War II, with tens of thousands of martyrs and injured. The infrastructure and cultural landmarks have suffered comprehensive destruction, which complicates access to accurate and comprehensive information, hindering documentation efforts, and negatively impacting the ability to fully assess the damages.
Strategies of Erasure and Political Dimensions
The Israeli occupation authorities employ strategies to erase culture and strip away identity, which are not merely side effects of war but systematic approaches rooted in actions predating the occupation of Palestine in 1948. These strategies fall under broader policies aimed at undermining the intellectual and cultural foundations of society, weakening it from within, disrupting social ties, and compromising national identity.
Targeting cultural, artistic, and educational centers, as well as archaeological and religious sites in Gaza, serves specific political goals. These institutions are not just venues for creativity and thought; they are vital for expressing collective memory and resilience against the occupation’s efforts to redefine and erase identity. Destroying these centers hinders the community’s ability to preserve its cultural identity and pass it on to future generations, enabling the aggressor to impose dominance and control by erasing its heritage and stripping it of its national significance.
Cultural genocide as part of war: Destruction beyond buildings and people
Cultural genocide is considered one of the most dangerous dimensions of wars and conflicts, as it reflects a comprehensive strategy aimed at erasing the cultural identity and historical heritage of a particular people. While most wars focus on destroying infrastructure and killing individuals, cultural genocide seeks to eliminate collective memory and cultural symbols, leading to consequences that go beyond physical damage. It weakens societies' ability to recover and rebuild after the war has ended.
This is evident in a range of practices carried out by Israeli occupation authorities during the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, attempting to systematically erase Palestinian historical memory. This is done by destroying archaeological sites and centers of knowledge, cultural properties, and tangible and intangible heritage, targeting physical artifacts, documents, manuscripts, books, and all forms of cultural production. Additionally, academic, scientific, artistic competencies, and cultural expertise are targeted for elimination.
Destroying cultural centers: erasing identity and history
The cultural and historical heritage in Gaza faces severe danger due to war, destruction, and systematic cultural genocide, driven by Israeli occupation efforts to erase Palestinian identity and history, reducing the ability of future generations to connect with their past. The occupation has targeted the cultural infrastructure in Gaza, including cultural centers, museums, theaters, exhibitions, historical and archaeological landmarks, public, private, and university libraries, as well as school libraries, mosques, churches, publishing houses, printing presses, and ministries.
The destruction has also affected a wealth of rare books, manuscripts, historical documents, private and administrative archives, audiovisual materials, preservation tools (both manual and electronic), land records, civil registries, and historical artifacts and relics.
Targeting Libraries, Museums, Archives and Archeology Centers: The Dispossession of Palestinian Memory
The Israeli war machine has targeted all museums in the Gaza Strip, most notably the National Museum in the "Pasha Palace," a Mamluk-era monument that was converted into a museum in 2010, it housed tens of thousands of archaeological artifacts. Other targeted museums include Deir al-Balah Museum, Rafah Museum, al-Qarara Museum, al-Funduq Museum, and other museums that had their collections destroyed or looted by occupation soldiers, who even photographed the items after transferring them to Israeli museums.
Hundreds of private and public libraries have also been destroyed and burned, including Khan Younis Municipality Library, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes. The library contained thousands of books, maps, and documents chronicling the city's history. They also targeted Al-Zahir Baybars Library in the Omari Mosque, which holds part of the Palestinian archive and a collection of rare books. Additionally, the libraries of Gaza University, Diana Tamari Sbagh Library, and Al-Isra University Library were destroyed, along with thousands of private libraries located within homes.
The destruction extended to the Central Archive in Gaza, which houses historical buildings and documents over 150 years old, as well as the city’s central archive, maps, engineering studies, and monitoring and control systems for water wells and sewage networks.
Additionally, occupation forces took control of the Gaza Antiquities Warehouse, and the director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority published photos of himself and his team from the warehouse, which contains thousands of artifacts dating from before 3000 BC to the seventh and eighth centuries AD, and even into the early Islamic period.
Dozens of cultural centers and theaters were also destroyed, including Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Center, the largest cultural center in the Gaza Strip, which contains documents, books, and historical plans and manuscripts, Orthodox Cultural Center, Hakawi Theater Association, and Al-Wedad Association and Theater, among others.
Targeting archeological and religious monuments
The destruction extended to hundreds of historical buildings, including the historic Al-Saqa House from the Ottoman period, Al-Sebat Scientific House dating back to the 17th century, Kamiliya School, and Al-Sumra Bathhouse, which was the last Ottoman bath in Gaza. The Baptist Hospital, a historical building constructed in 1882, was also bombed, along with the Al-Balakhia Port.
Moreover, Tel al-Ajjul site, which represents Gaza's history in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, was targeted, as was the Monastery of St. Hilarion, which suffered aerial bombardment that led to part of its destruction. This monastery is one of the oldest in the Middle East and was listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List of endangered sites in July 2024.
In addition, the occupation targeted four ancient churches that are considered significant cultural symbols in Palestine, including St. Porphyrius Church, the Baptist Church and its hospital. A total of 611 mosques were completely destroyed, while 214 mosques suffered partial destruction, among them Al-Omari Mosque in Gaza, one of the oldest and most important mosques in historic Palestine, and the archaeological Osman Qashqar Mosque. Furthermore, eight cemeteries were completely destroyed, including the demolishing and uprooting of Beit Hanoun cemetery, where 600 graves were exhumed, as well as the Roman cemetery, which dates back around 2000 years and contained a collection of lead coffins, and Deir al-Balah cemetery, which dates back to the Late Bronze Age.
Targeting Education
Israel's targeting of the educational sector in Gaza is one of the most prominent aspects of the ongoing war. Approximately 10,000 students and 400 teachers have been killed, and schools, universities, and kindergartens have been significantly affected by bombings and destruction, leading to the disruption of education and damage to educational infrastructure since the war began. Around 90% of schools and universities have been affected, with approximately 125 schools and universities completely destroyed and 337 partially damaged. Additionally, dozens of schools have been converted into shelters, depriving more than 630,000 students of their education.
Artists, Creatives, Academics, and Journalists in Gaza: Between Death, Displacement, and Loss of Platforms
The targeting of academics, artists, scientists, and journalists during the war represents a significant threat to the future of Palestinian society in Gaza. These individuals are carriers of intellectual and cultural knowledge that promote growth and progress. The loss of their platforms, as well as their intellectual, media, and artistic tools due to genocide and displacement, may weaken the cultural and scientific infrastructure.
Since the onset of the genocide, the Israeli war machine has killed over 130 scientists, academics, university professors, and researchers, such as Sufyan Tayeh, the head of the Islamic University and a Palestinian physicist and researcher in the fields of physics and applied mathematics. In addition, 127 journalists have been martyred, along with dozens of writers, poets, and artists, including poet and writer Saleem Al-Naffar and artist Fathi Ghabin, one of the founders of the Association of Plastic Artists in the Gaza Strip.
Destroying Handicrafts and Heritage Artworks
In addition to the loss of artworks that their owners kept in their destroyed homes, many workshops and shops specializing in traditional handicrafts in Gaza- such as embroidery, pottery, ceramics, and bamboo weaving have been severely affected. These crafts are an integral part of the cultural heritage and the national identity, as well as being a primary source of income for many residents of Gaza.
Ways to Save What Remains
Amid the ongoing war that has persisted for a year, the cultural landscape in Gaza faces significant challenges in rebuilding and resuming cultural activities. These challenges include the difficulty of recovering lost or stolen items, the loss of skilled individuals who were the backbone of cultural institutions due to martyrdom, displacement, or migration, as well as insecurity and disrupted infrastructure, which hinders any reconstruction efforts. Furthermore, there are challenges in coordinating with local and international funding bodies, with many relying on satellite imagery to assess damage due to the impossibility of conducting on-the-ground evaluations in the current circumstances.
The National Library is calling on the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian cultural heritage in Gaza, based on the principle of collective ownership of cultural properties for all humanity, and that attacks on this heritage constitute an assault on all peoples of the world. The library urges compliance with the 1954 Hague Convention, which prohibits the destruction and damage of cultural heritage during armed conflicts. Moreover, it demands the formation of an international committee under the United Nations, particularly UNESCO, to assess cultural damages and facilitate restoration efforts. There is also a call for the establishment of a committee from Palestinian institutions to document these damages as a precursor to bringing the issue of cultural genocide in Gaza to the International Criminal Court, seeking to prosecute war criminals and demand compensations.