206 priceless archaeological, heritage sites destroyed by Israel in Gaza: Palestinian official

The Israeli army has destroyed and vandalized 206 priceless archaeological and heritage sites amid its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday.

"Palestinian archaeological and heritage sites were not spared from destruction, vandalism, looting and theft by the Israeli occupation army," Ismail Thawabteh, the head of Gaza's Government Media Office, told Anadolu.

He said some of the sites were completely destroyed, while others took severe damage.

“Israel's targeting of these sites reflects a systematic strategy to obliterate the Palestinian identity,” he added.

Prominent among archaeological sites targeted by the Israeli army in Gaza are the Great Omari Mosque, Byzantine Church in Jabalia, Shrine of Al-Khadir in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, and Blakhiya Byzantine cemetery (the Anthedon of Palestine) in northwestern Gaza City.

Also on the list are also the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, 400-year-old Al-Saqqa House, and Sayed al-Hashim Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Gaza.

Some of the ancient and archaeological sites destroyed by the Israeli army date back to the Phoenician and Roman eras, while others date from between 800 BC and AD 1400, and some more recent ones were built 400 years ago.

Gaza is an ancient and historic city that came under the rule of several empires and civilizations, including the Egyptian pharaohs, the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines, and then Ottoman rule in the Islamic era, among others.

“These criminal acts aim to harm the Palestinian people, their history and culture,” Thawabteh said.

Israel, he said, seeks “to obliterate the Palestinian cultural heritage, break the will of the Palestinians and consolidate the occupation as part of a plan to empty the land of its people and impose a new reality."

Since launching its genocidal war on Gaza following a Hamas attack in October 2023, Israel has killed over 44,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 105,000, according to official figures.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn widespread international condemnation, with starvation tactics and blocking humanitarian aid deliveries denounced as deliberate attempts to destroy the entire population.

Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its actions in Gaza, which have drawn mounting international condemnation.