Amid the mountains of debris left behind by the war in Gaza City, a group of women is fighting a very different kind of battle. Their tools aren’t weapons, but sponges, brushes, and brooms. With every fragile page they pull from beneath the rubble, they rescue another piece of the city’s memory in a determined effort to keep history from being buried forever.
Known as the “Guardians of History,” these volunteers are part of a broader heritage preservation initiative led by the Eyes on Heritage Foundation. Together, they have launched a campaign to salvage whatever remains of the historic library at the Great Omari Mosque—one of Palestine’s oldest and most treasured archives—after it sustained devastating damage during the war.
Haneen Al-Amassi, the foundation’s Executive Director, explained that the organization has made it its core mission to rescue every single book and manuscript that can still be saved.
“Our foundation has taken on the responsibility of saving everything that can be rescued from the library,” Al-Amassi said. “We launched this volunteer initiative to restore and rehabilitate the Great Omari Mosque Library because it’s a historic landmark that holds immense value for everyone in Gaza City.”
“We are restoring every book that can still be repaired, because preserving this library means preserving the city’s memory and identity,” she added.
The initiative relies entirely on the dedication of its volunteers. “Our team consists of 11 women from diverse fields,” Al-Amassi noted. “Each of us brought simple tools from home—sponges, brushes, and brooms—and together we began restoring the library because we believe this is a sacred mission.”
Assessing the Catastrophic Damage
Before the war, the library housed nearly 20,000 books, journals, and rare historical manuscripts, serving as one of Gaza’s most vital cultural and academic repositories. Tragically, much of that collection has been lost following repeated strikes on the Great Omari Mosque.
According to Al-Amassi, preliminary assessments show that the vast majority of the collection has been completely destroyed, with only a few thousand volumes believed to be salvageable.
“The Great Omari Mosque was struck three times,” she said. “The library sustained catastrophic damage, and we lost countless rare books and priceless manuscripts that can never be replaced.”
The rescue effort is painstaking. It starts with carefully retrieving books from beneath the debris and sorting them based on their condition. The women then brush away layers of dust and rubble before transferring the fragile texts to safe locations. There, they can be properly dried and preserved before undergoing formal restoration—a process that could take months, if not years.
“The first time we came here, the situation was heartbreaking,” Al-Amassi recalled. “Books were buried beneath stones, dust, rubble, and the residue of explosives. Cleaning them was incredibly difficult. After the bombing, the library had even become a shelter for stray animals.”
Despite these harsh conditions, the women are working in a race against time, desperately trying to beat the humidity, mold, and environmental exposure that threaten to destroy whatever is left of Gaza’s written heritage.
Reviving the City’s Soul
For the Eyes on Heritage Foundation, this project represents far more than just repairing damaged books; it is a fight to revive Gaza’s cultural life at a time when almost every aspect of daily existence has been shattered.
“Through restoring the library, we are trying to spread hope and revive Gaza’s cultural scene,” Al-Amassi explained. “At a time when the city is overwhelmed by destruction, when tents fill the streets, homes lie in ruins, and the basic necessities of life are absent, we want to inspire young people, writers, and intellectuals. Sadly, Gaza’s cultural life has almost disappeared.”
She views the restoration effort as both an act of cultural preservation and a powerful symbol of resilience.
“We truly believe our mission is extraordinary,” she said. “We are restoring a rare historic library in Gaza City that left a lasting impression on everyone who visited it.”
As Gaza continues to grapple with the deep scars of war, the Guardians of History work quietly among the ruins. They are driven by the conviction that saving even a single book can preserve a story, protect a memory, and safeguard a people’s identity. In a place where so much has been lost, every rescued page stands as a small but powerful act of defiance against oblivion.