DECEMBER 7, 2023 — A November 7 report from the NGO “Heritage for Peace” estimated that more than 100 heritage sites had been destroyed in Gaza since the start of the bombardment that followed Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. These included a Byzantine church, a seventh-century mosque, and scores of other cultural monuments.
Now, a month later, a new report from the Palestinian Ministry of Culture details the destruction Israeli military forces have wrought not just on historical sites, but also to the contemporary cultural landscape: artists, writers, dancers, calligraphers, and publishing houses, bookshops, theaters, and libraries.
This new report from the Palestinian Ministry of Culture titled the “Second Preliminary Report on Cultural Sector Damage,” released today, takes a wide view. The ministry offers details on the deaths of writers, artists, and dancers; information about the destruction of publishing houses and archives; as well as the loss of historical buildings. Report writers note that it has been difficult to obtain comprehensive and precise information during an ongoing bombardment; however, the report “attempts to provide an overview of what we have been able to access.”
The report initially focuses first on the people themselves, noting that, “This war has affected artists, intellectuals, and writers who have lost family members and loved ones. Like more than half of Gaza’s population, they were forced to flee from north to south, leaving behind their homes, possessions, and memories. They left behind their libraries, literary legacies, rituals, musical instruments, and tools that constitute the foundation of their work and livelihood.” The report marks twenty-eight artists, poets, writers, musicians, calligraphers, and dancers — including four children — who have been killed since October 7. These include 15-year-old violinist Lubna Alian, 17-year-old folk-troupe dancer Tala Balousha, writer Abdullah Al-Aqad, poet and novelist Hiba Abu Nada, writer and book collector Abdul Karim Hashash, poet Omar Faris Abu Shaweesh, children’s theater artist Inas Al-Saqa, writer and musician Yusuf Dawas, calligrapher Mohannad Al-Agha, and poet Nour al-Din Hajjaj.
The report also details the loss of institutions, including nine publishers and booksellers. It details significant damage to the main public library, which, report-writers noted, “is part of the Gaza City Municipality buildings located on Unity Street, housing hundreds of thousands of books.” The libraries at Al-Azhar University, the Islamic University, and Al- Quds Open University in Gaza City were also damaged, report-writers note.
The report also states that there was partial or complete damage to twenty-one cultural centers in Gaza, 20 historical buildings (including churches, mosques, museums, and archaeological sites), and three media and art production studios.
For context, report-writers note that there are an estimated 220,000 participants in cultural activities across Gaza each year, and that in 2022 there were eighty public libraries, fifteen publishing houses and bookshops, and seventy-six cultural centers.
The Palestinian Ministry has been headed up by Gazan novelist Atef Abu Saif since 2019; Abu Saif’s introduction to the report ends on a hopeful note, stating that Palestinians in Gaza will “undoubtedly continue to contribute to human civilization, restoring joy and hope, elevating through singing, music, poetry, novels, stories, and tales rooted in the ever-evolving consciousness, culture, and thought of the land of the first stories.”
You can download “Second Preliminary Report on Cultural Sector Damage” as a PDF. The report is also available in Arabic.