Palestine. On October 13, Hamas released the last living hostages and the Israeli army began its partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (but it still controls more than 50% of the enclave). After two years of indiscriminate bombing, and between 60,000 and 100,000 deaths according to Hamas, the scale of the destruction in Gaza is immense. According to an estimate from the Hebrew University included in the newspaper Haaretz by summer 2025, between 70 and 80% of buildings in the Gaza Strip would have been completely destroyed since October 2023, including historic buildings and places of worship. The United Nations estimates that it would take at least fifteen years to clear the rubble and rebuild, at a cost of $30 billion.
Amid the ruins, what remains of Gaza’s rich heritage? One of the particularities of the subsoil of Gaza is the superposition of archaeological layers over several meters in an urban environment, with an effect of “mille-feuille” stratigraphic as explained by Father Jean-Baptiste Humbert, archaeologist from the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF). Several sites have been occupied from the Neolithic to today, including the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman periods. Gaza has the first Christian monasteries in the Middle East, including the Saint-Hilarion monastery (5th-6th centuries) inscribed on the list of world heritage sites in danger in July 2024, as well as numerous Roman and Byzantine mosaics with exceptional decorations. It is also necessary to point out the high density of ancient sanctuaries and necropolises throughout the territory.
Mosaic floor inside the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, in the Gaza Strip, photographed in 2022.
© Unesco Ramallah Office
Remains revealed
Little excavated until the 1990s, these sites were studied gradually, despite the structural difficulties. Father Jean-Baptiste Humbert points out that the construction activity of the 1990s and 2000s revealed numerous sites by chance. At the same time, the expansion of refugee camps and strong population growth have constantly eroded the surroundings of already known archaeological sites. Since taking power in Gaza in 2005, Hamas has shown no interest in safeguarding heritage, without being hostile to it either. From October 2023, several sites have been affected by bombings, despite reports from archaeologists and UNESCO satellite monitoring. Little recent information has filtered out. The latest, at the end of September, concerns the warehouse rented by the EBAF in Gaza to store archaeological pieces from its excavations. Threatened with imminent destruction by the Israeli army, the depot was urgently evacuated to a confidential location. According to Palestinian archaeologists, among the sites partially destroyed in 2024 are the ancient Greek port of Anthedon, Saint Hilarion’s Monastery, Saint Porphyry Church and several medieval or Ottoman mosques. Hundreds of listed historic Ottoman buildings were also destroyed in urban centers, sometimes with bulldozers, and Gaza’s few museums were looted or destroyed. If both parties respect the road map, access to Gaza should soon be authorized for the media and NGOs, which will allow a more precise inventory.
Archaeological excavations at the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, in the Gaza Strip, in March 2023.
