Israel’s war on Palestinian memory: New data exposes systematic destruction of Gaza’s cultural heritage
By isabelle // 2025-09-03
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  • Israel is systematically destroying Gaza’s cultural heritage to erase Palestinian identity from history.
  • More than 100 cultural centers, 87 libraries, and 110 UNESCO-listed heritage sites have been demolished.
  • Legal documents, birth certificates, and land records are being looted and burned to erase proof of Palestinian existence.
  • Poets, artists, and historians are being killed, while Israel’s colonial erasure tactics mirror those used since 1948.
  • Despite the destruction, Palestinian memory and resistance endure—but the world remains silent.
If you’ve ever wondered why Israel’s assault on Gaza feels like more than just a military campaign, the answer is now undeniable: This is an attempt to erase an entire people — not just from the land, but from history itself. Newly released data from the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, verified by UNESCO, confirms what many have long suspected: Israel is systematically destroying Gaza’s cultural heritage, wiping out libraries, museums, historic homes, and centuries-old manuscripts in a calculated effort to kill Palestinian identity. The numbers are staggering. More than 100 cultural centers — including theaters, archives, and artistic collectives — have been obliterated by Israeli airstrikes and shelling. 87 libraries lie in ruins, among them the Omari Mosque Library, which housed manuscripts dating back to 1514 AD. 12 museums and 146 historic homes have been reduced to rubble. Even UNESCO has verified the destruction of 110 heritage sites, yet the world remains largely silent.

A deliberate campaign of “memoricide”

This isn’t collateral damage; it’s culturicide, a term used by archaeologists to describe the intentional annihilation of a people’s history. Salah Hussein Al-Houdalieh, an archaeologist at Al-Quds University and Secretary General of ICOMOS-Palestine, stated: “When you bomb a museum or a centuries-old mosque, you are not just destroying stones—you are erasing the roots of a people. This is memoricide.” Gaza has been a crossroads of civilizations for over 1.5 million years, home to ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Byzantines, and Islamic dynasties. Yet in just 17 months of war, Israel has wiped out much of that legacy. The Gaza Municipal Archives — holding 150 years of records — are gone. The Land Registry records, proving Palestinian ownership of homes and land, have been destroyed. The Azhar Institute Archives, containing Ottoman-era documents, no longer exist. Even birth certificates, marriage records, and death certificates have been looted and burned, leaving survivors with no legal proof they ever existed. The destruction isn’t just about buildings; it’s about people. Bassem Hassouna, director of Gaza’s Culture Ministry, was killed in an Israeli strike near Al-Shifa Hospital in March 2024. Dozens of poets, artists, and musicians have been slaughtered. Librarians like Doaa Al-Masri, who worked at Gaza’s Edward Said Library, are dead. Writers like Abdul Karim Hashash, who documented Palestinian poetry and culture, are gone.

A pattern of colonial erasure

This isn’t new. Israel has long targeted Palestinian culture as part of its colonial project. During the 1948 Nakba, Israeli forces looted and destroyed Palestinian homes, books, and records. During the First Intifada, even writing the word “Palestine” was punishable by death or torture. Ahmad Almallah, a Palestinian poet now living in the U.S., recalled: “The Israeli occupation banned using the word ‘Palestine,’ and children and teenagers caught inscribing the word on a wall were either shot dead or arrested and subjected to torture. But that didn’t stop Palestinians from writing the word and piling on it poems, literature, and personal and natural history.”

Will the world let Gaza’s memory die?

The International Criminal Court has already ruled that destroying cultural heritage is a war crime. South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) includes allegations of cultural dispossession. Yet Israel continues its assault unchecked. UNESCO has documented the destruction, but where is the global outcry? Where are the sanctions? Where is the justice? Every day Israel bombs Gaza, another piece of Palestinian history vanishes forever. Despite the devastation, Palestinian identity refuses to die. Farmers still use ancient Canaanite agricultural terms. Refugees pass down keys to their 1948 homes as symbols of return. Stories, traditions, and resistance live on, even if the buildings do not. After all, memory is stronger than bombs. And no matter how hard Israel tries, Palestine will not be forgotten. Sources for this article include: TheCradle.co TehranTimes.com GlobalIssues.org
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