The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Wednesday that 226 archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip have been damaged as a result of direct Israeli assault, the Wafa news site reported.
The ministry made the announcement in cooperation with the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation as part of a report titled “Inventory of the Damages and Risks to Cultural Heritage Sites in Gaza”, which assessed the damage inflicted by Israeli occupation forces in their latest aggression.
The report examines 316 cultural heritage sites in Gaza, with Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Hani Al-Hayek, highlighting that the findings are based on a thorough field survey of all sites, analysis of satellite images, data collection and the creation of individual site models.
Of the 316 sites, 138 sustained major damage, 61 others were moderately damaged, 27 suffered slight damage, and 90 remained undamaged.
An estimated €261.15 million ($271.01 million) is needed to recover the cultural heritage sector, to be implemented in three phases over eight years.
Al-Hayek said that the historical archaeological sites are an important part of the history and identity of the Palestinian people on Palestinian land, adding that the occupation, by targeting these sites, is deliberately erasing and destroying this important part and the basic pillar of the Palestinian national identity.
