Archaeologists in Gaza have successfully evacuated valuable artefacts spanning nearly three decades from a building in Gaza City amid threats of Israeli strikes, AFP reported.
“This was a high-risk operation, carried out in an extremely dangerous context for everyone involved – a real last-minute rescue,” said Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), which housed the artefacts.
Israeli officials on Wednesday ordered EBAF, one of the region’s oldest academic organisations, to vacate its archaeological storehouse on the ground floor of a residential tower in Gaza City that was likely to be attacked.
“With almost no international actors left on the ground, no infrastructure, nothing functioning, we had to improvise transport, labour and logistics,” Poquillon added.When questioned by AFP, the Israeli army declined to confirm the warning, but numerous sources said France, UNESCO, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem played a critical role in gaining a brief reprieve that allowed the majority of the artefacts to be taken.
He further added that the operation was carried out under extreme conditions as Israeli forces pressed operations in the territory’s biggest urban area.
The depot held approximately 180 cubic meters of artefacts from five key archaeological sites in Gaza, including the historic Saint Hilarion monastery, a Unesco World Heritage site dating back to the fourth century. According to EBAF, all of these sites have suffered damage, and they are concerned about “unique” mosaics that have been left exposed despite their fragility.
He added that Gaza’s heritage is extremely ancient and precious “for the region, showing the succession and coexistence of peoples, cultures and religions”.According to researchers, apart from scattered ruins that are very vulnerable to bombardment, the EBAF storage is the sole substantial repository of artefacts remaining in Palestinian territory.
René Elter, an archaeologist affiliated with the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF) and scientific coordinator for PUI, reflected on the challenging evacuation of Gaza’s archaeological treasures. He said, “We saved a large part, but in a rescue you always lose things, and you always face painful choices.”
Elter noted that despite many artefacts being broken or lost, the scientific information remains intact thanks to prior photographs and drawings. “Perhaps that will be the only trace that remains of Gaza’s archaeology – in books, publications, libraries,” he added.
Gaza’s cultural heritage has been severely affected by the ongoing conflict, with one museum destroyed and another heavily damaged. According to the Palestinian Civil Defence, at least 50 multistorey buildings have been destroyed in recent weeks as Israeli forces intensify their assault on the city, Al Jazeera reported.
Some neighbourhoods have been almost completely destroyed. Since early August, more than 1,500 homes and buildings in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood have been destroyed, leaving portions of the district without a single structure.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, the Benjamin Netanyahu government has relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 64,000 Palestinians including many women and children.
Israel has also blocked all aid – medical and food – from reaching the narrow strip, which has seen almost all of its population internally displaced. This has also led to a “man-made famine” in the area, resulting in the deaths of more than 360 people, including 130 children, from hunger, Al Jazeera reported.
