Gaza Herald — As Israel’s assault on Gaza enters yet another devastating phase, Palestinians warn that the Israeli occupation is not only taking lives and destroying homes, but also targeting the very roots of Gaza’s identity. Cultural institutions, ancient sites, and historical archives have become deliberate targets, raising alarm that an entire heritage stretching back thousands of years is being wiped out in real time.
The Israeli occupation has stolen more than 17,000 archaeological artifacts from the Pasha’s Palace Museum in Gaza City during the ongoing genocidal war, deliberately destroying the historic site and looting the antiquities kept inside it.
Dr. Hammouda Al-Dahdaar, the supervisor of the restoration of the historical Pasha’s Palace, said the occupation intentionally levelled the museum and its rare collections, noting that it had long been considered an architectural and cultural treasure for the people of Gaza.
Al-Dahdaar explained that the museum contained an extensive archive of valuable archaeological pieces, yet the Israeli army seized them before demolishing the site. After days of excavation and searching beneath the rubble, specialized teams were able to recover only 20 artifacts.
He confirmed that the museum had housed more than 17,000 items and accused the occupation and its collaborators of being directly responsible for the disappearance of these priceless objects, including relics from the Mamluk, Ottoman, Byzantine, and Roman eras, as well as from prehistoric periods.
At the same time, UNESCO has documented the destruction of more than 114 archaeological sites across Gaza during the war, while Palestinian authorities say that number has reached 226, underscoring the scale of the cultural devastation.
The Pasha’s Palace was among Gaza’s most significant historical landmarks. Built during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars, the structure underwent several transformations throughout its history, serving as a seat of governance, a police station, and later a school, before being converted into a museum in 2010 and fully restored in 2015.
The palace was bombed in December 2023 as part of a wave of Israeli attacks targeting archaeological sites, a pattern researchers describe as part of a deliberate policy aimed at erasing Palestinian cultural identity and severing Gaza from its historical roots.
Located in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza’s Old City, the sprawling palace covers roughly six dunams, with two main buildings divided by a courtyard and garden. It held rare artifacts representing a diverse range of civilizations that once flourished in Palestine.
The systematic destruction of heritage sites like the Pasha’s Palace strengthens Palestinian fears that Israel seeks not only to remove Gaza’s people, but to erase every trace of their history. As scholars and heritage experts warn, the loss of cultural memory is irreversible, making the protection and documentation of Gaza’s past an urgent global responsibility.
