Gaza's ruins Custodians vow to rebuild the historic treasures damaged by war

Hamouda al-Dahda stands in the ruins of the Pasha Palace in Gaza City, where before the war the golden limestone walls of the 800-year-old building towered above him and the cool vaulted halls held hundreds of priceless historical artefacts.

- Malak A Tantesh, Jason Burke

"The palace was like a small paradise on Earth. Now, there is no life here at all and anyone who comes is sad. They can remember what it once was," the 40-year-old museum director said.

There is little left of the palace - a mansion and fortress during Mamluk and Ottoman rule over Gaza. Israeli bombardment and fighting in Gaza City through late 2023 and early 2024 left just a few sections of wall and an arch. Almost nothing remains of the museum.

For Dahda, the loss is personal too. He had not wanted to leave the palace and so did not join hundreds of thousands of others fleeing to the south of Gaza when war broke out. In December 2023, he was staying with his wife and three daughters nearby when there was a huge explosion. "All my close family members were pulled out from under the rubble injured, except for my daughter Mervat, 12-years-old, who was pulled out as a lifeless body. May God have mercy on her," he said.