Gaza Volunteers Race to Save Cultural Heritage From War

Volunteers in Gaza are working to preserve historic and cultural artefacts damaged by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Based in Khan Yunis, the Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts leads efforts to recover, clean, and catalogue items ranging from 5,000-year-old tools to 20th-century documents.

The UN reports over 160 historic sites in the Palestinian territory have sustained damage during the conflict, and more than 90% of Gaza’s buildings are damaged or destroyed. Volunteers are improvising with limited resources, using paintbrushes for cleaning and makeshift scanners for digitisation.

Retrieving artefacts from areas now under Israeli control presents significant challenges, but the group continues to document oral histories and preserve what remains accessible, aiming to maintain a connection to Gaza’s rich past for future generations.