Nine hours of tense negotiations with the Israeli military. A last-minute frantic search for trucks in the fuel-scarce Gaza Strip. Six hours of hasty packing to carefully load cardboard boxes onto open trucks, according to AP news.
Under the constant threat of airstrikes, workers salvaged thousands of priceless archaeological artifacts from a Gaza warehouse before the building was demolished.
The warehouse held valuable finds from more than two-thirds of a century of excavation, including a 4th-century Byzantine monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and some of the oldest evidence of Christianity in Gaza.
The Israeli military said the building housed Hamas intelligence stations and was intended to be blown up as part of its larger military operation in Gaza City.
“This is not just about Palestinian or Christian heritage; this is an important part of world heritage that UNESCO protects,” said Kevin Charbel, the humanitarian organization’s field coordinator for emergencies.
