History in ruins 'I will spend rest of my life rebuilding'

Archaeologists say more than two-thirds of Gaza's heritage sites have been damaged. Residents have vowed to restore them

-  Malak A Tantesh and Jason Burke

Hamouda al-Dahda stands in the ruins of 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 historical artefacts.

"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 and where Napoleon Bonaparte once spent several nights. Israeli bombardment and fight- ing in Gaza City during late 2023 and early 2024 left just a few sections of wall and an arch standing. 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 thou- sands 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 Mer- vat, 12 years old, who was pulled out as a lifeless body. May God have mercy on her," he said.