Gaza / PNN /

 The Israeli occupation has stolen more than 17,000 archaeological artifacts from the Pasha’s Palace Museum in Gaza City during the ongoing genocidal war, during which it deliberately destroyed the museum and looted the antiquities housed within it.

Dr. Hammouda Al-Dahdaar, the supervisor of the restoration of the historical Pasha’s Palace, said that the occupation intentionally destroyed the museum and its contents, noting that it had been considered an architectural masterpiece.

Al-Dahdaar added in a statement that the museum contained numerous important archaeological artifacts, “but the Israeli army seized them, and after excavation and searches under the rubble, specialized teams found only 20 artifacts.”

He confirmed that the museum had housed more than 17,000 artifacts and accused the occupation and its collaborators of being primarily responsible for the disappearance of these items, which date back to the Mamluk, Ottoman, Byzantine, and Roman eras, as well as prehistoric periods.

Meanwhile, UNESCO has documented the destruction of more than 114 archaeological sites in Gaza during the war, while official Palestinian sources have counted 226 destroyed sites.

The Pasha’s Palace is considered one of Gaza’s most prominent historical landmarks. It was built during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars and has undergone multiple transformations over time—from a seat of governance to a police station, then a school—before being converted into a museum in 2010 and undergoing comprehensive restoration in 2015.

The palace was bombed in December 2023 as part of a series of attacks targeting numerous archaeological sites, which researchers have described as part of an Israeli policy aimed at erasing Palestinian cultural identity.

Located in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza’s Old City, the palace spans an area of about six dunams. It consists of two buildings separated by a courtyard and garden and houses rare artifacts from various civilizations.