For centuries, worshippers entered Gaza’s Great Omari Mosque through a building carrying many eras of the city’s history. However, in December 2023, an Israeli strike left much of it in ruins. Consequently, Palestinians returned to pray beside its broken walls and recover whatever could be saved.
In fact, Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed innocent families and shattered the places where Palestinian life was recorded. On the other hand, in the occupied West Bank, the assault on history takes another form. At Sebastia, archaeology is being used to seize land and separate Palestinians from their own heritage.
Israel Has Damaged Centuries of Gaza’s History
As of March 24, 2026, UNESCO had verified damage to 164 cultural sites in Gaza. They included religious sites, historic or artistic buildings, repositories, monuments, museums and archaeological sites.
This is a confirmed minimum based largely on satellite images and limited inspections. It does not cover every damaged mosque, family archive or traditional home.
Gaza’s historic centre held evidence of more than 5,000 years of urban life. The city linked Egypt, the Levant and the Mediterranean long before Israel tried to reduce it to rubble.
The Great Omari Mosque Held Many Eras in Its Walls
The Great Omari Mosque was Gaza City’s principal congregational mosque. An ancient sanctuary at the site was followed by a Byzantine church. It later became a mosque and was enlarged under Mamluk and Ottoman rule.
Palestinians prayed, studied, and gathered there daily. Its architecture showed how Gaza preserved its past while giving the site new meaning.
Israel accepted that it struck the mosque deliberately. Palestinians involved in recovery work also expressed deep sorrow over this heinous act. The result is undeniable – a centre of worship, scholarship and memory was blasted apart.
The Loss Extends Beyond Gaza’s Mosques
UNESCO’s list also includes the Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church complex, Pasha Palace Museum, Al-Qaysariyya Market, Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Centre and Hamam al-Sammara.
The church served Gaza’s ancient Christian community. The market carried its commercial history, while Pasha Palace preserved archaeological collections.
Anthedon Harbour recalled Gaza’s ancient Mediterranean trade. Saint Hilarion Monastery reflected the importance of early Christianity in Palestine and was entered on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list in 2024.
These were places where Palestinians worshipped, worked, learned and understood their relationship with the land.
Palestinians Are Saving What They Can
Palestinian architects, archaeologists and volunteers are searching unstable ruins with few tools. At the Great Omari Mosque, teams have cleared debris and recovered architectural pieces and surviving manuscripts.
In 2025, aid workers moved thousands of archaeological objects from a threatened Gaza City warehouse shortly before Israel destroyed the building. The collection came from more than 25 years of excavations. Saving it protected evidence of Palestine’s deep history.
Sebastia Tells a History Israel Cannot Own
Northwest of Nablus, Sebastia contains more than three millennia of history. Its remains span Israelite, Assyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader and Ottoman periods.
The site is sacred to Muslims and Christians because it is traditionally associated with Prophet Yahya (PBUH), known in Christianity as John the Baptist. A Crusader cathedral was later converted into Nabi Yahya Mosque.
Moreover, Sebastia is also a living Palestinian community. Homes, olive terraces, restaurants and businesses surround the ruins. Local families have conserved buildings and earned income from visitors. Yet the Oslo arrangements placed the town in Area B and much of the archaeological mound in Area C under full Israeli control.
Israel Is Turning Archaeology Into Illegal Annexation
Israel increasingly presents Sebastia through a narrow biblical narrative while weakening its connection to the Palestinian town. In 2023, the Israeli government allocated 32 million shekels to develop what it calls the Shomron National Park.
A later expropriation plan covered about 1,800 dunams, or 445 acres. It includes privately owned Palestinian land, olive groves, homes and businesses belonging to residents of Sebastia and nearby Burqa. Proposed roads and fencing could direct visitors to an Israeli-managed attraction while bypassing the Palestinian community.
In 2025, Israeli authorities issued 60 archaeological-site declarations across the northern West Bank, including 30 new locations. In May 2026, an unfortunate legislation intended to transfer West Bank antiquities to an Israeli civilian authority passed its first Knesset reading.
Additionally, a UN commission found that turning occupied archaeological sites into Israeli tourist attractions constituted unlawful misappropriation. It described the proposed transfer as an act of illegal annexation.
Recognising ancient Jewish history is not the problem. The injustice lies in selecting one historical layer, claiming ownership through it, and excluding Palestinians living beside the site.
In a nutshell, Gaza and Sebastia reveal two parts of the same struggle. One policy destroys the physical record, while the other controls how the surviving record is presented.
Palestine’s heritage belongs to the people who preserved it and built their lives around it. Israel may damage the stones or fence them away, but it cannot turn Palestinian history into Israeli property.
