GAZA CITY, Palestine

Amid the rubble of the seven-century-old Great Omari Mosque library, Palestinian researcher Hanin al-Amassi carefully holds the remnants of ancient books and manuscripts.

She gently removes the layers of accumulated dust and cautiously examines the fragile pages, which carry a rich historical legacy.

At the devastated site, ravaged by over 15 months of Israeli bombardment on Gaza, shattered stones are mixed with torn pages and scattered books, while the silence of destruction looms over the scene.

Despite the overwhelming devastation, hope still persists in the hearts of Palestinians striving to restore what was lost and preserve the remnants of their cultural and religious heritage.

700-Year-old manuscripts

With minimal resources and relentless determination, a Palestinian restoration team from Gaza’s Ministry of Religious Endowments, led by al-Amassi, continues efforts to recover historical manuscripts, documents, and rare books – some dating back nearly 700 years – from the ruins of the mosque’s library.

The Great Omari Mosque, one of the oldest and most significant mosques in Gaza, is located in the heart of Gaza City’s old district near its historic market.

The mosque spans 4,100 square meters (44,132 square feet), with a courtyard of 1,190 square meters (12,809 square feet).

Throughout previous Israeli wars in Gaza, the mosque sustained significant damage.

However, Tel Aviv’s recent genocidal war from Oct. 7, 2023, led to its total destruction, leaving behind only a few remnants.

7 centuries buried under rubbleThe mosque housed a historic library on its western side, established more than 700 years ago.

Before its destruction, it held approximately 20,000 books and was the third-largest library in Palestine, covering 4,100 square meters.

The library’s collection included a vast array of manuscripts, from comprehensive works to smaller scholarly treatises, with the oldest dating back to 920 AH (1514).

Among its most notable manuscripts was "Sharh al-Ghawamid fi ‘Ilm al-Fara’id" by Badr al-Din al-Mardini, a text on Islamic inheritance law that is approximately 500 years old, according to the Palestinian Studies Institute.

The library was forced to close in October 2023, and just three months later, on Dec. 8, Israeli warplanes bombed and completely destroyed the Great Omari Mosque, reducing its library to rubble.

The manuscripts, buried under the ruins by relentless Israeli attacks, which had witnessed successive historical periods, now have a renewed chance for survival.

123 manuscripts rescued from destruction

“We have recovered a collection of historical manuscripts, saving around 123 out of 228, along with scattered pages totaling 78, of which we successfully preserved 36,” al-Amassi, who heads the Omari Mosque manuscript restoration team, told Anadolu.

Describing the dire condition of the manuscripts, she explained that they had endured direct missile strikes, physical damage, and extensive mold and humidity due to prolonged burial under the rubble.

"Everything was annihilated: the stones, the people, and the manuscripts," al-Amassi lamented, highlighting the scale of destruction inflicted upon the mosque and its historical contents.

The manuscripts date back to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, spanning between 500 to 700 years ago, she said.

After retrieval, al-Amassi’s team provides immediate preservation efforts, carefully cleaning the manuscripts, removing mold, and attempting to restore them to their pre-war condition.

Devastated Gaza

On Feb. 2, 2025, Salama Marouf, head of Gaza’s government media office, declared Gaza a “disaster zone” during a press conference held amid the ruins of al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza following months of Israeli attacks.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Religious Endowments, 1,109 out of 1,244 mosques were completely or partially destroyed during the Israeli assault, marking an unprecedented loss of religious and cultural heritage.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place in Gaza since January, pausing Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 48,500 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.