Gaza cultural heritage goes on display in Geneva as war enters second year

An exhibition of archaeological finds from Gaza has gone on display in Geneva this week, a year on from the 7 October Hamas attacks and the start of the current Israel-Palestine war.

Forty-four objects from Gaza, including amphorae, statuettes, vases, oil lamps and figurines, can be seen at the Patrimony in Peril exhibition in the Swiss city's Museum of Art and History, according to the global news agency AFP.

The artefacts are part of a collection of 530 objects that have been stored in Geneva since 2007, unable to return to the Palestinian territory.

The exhibition, which also includes objects from Syria, Libya and Egypt, is being staged to mark 70 years since the introduction of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

On until 9 February 2025, the exhibition explores the role of museums in protecting cultural property from damage, looting and conflict, and the deliberate targeting of cultural heritage during times of war.

Speaking to the media, the museum's director Marc-Olivier Wahler said: “Unfortunately, in the event of conflict, many aggressors attack cultural heritage because it is obviously erasing the identity of a people, erasing its history.”

Thankfully “there are museums, rules and conventions that protect this heritage”, he said.

Cultural heritage in Gaza has been left severely damaged by Israeli military action over the past 12 months.

According to Unesco's most recent assessment, published on 17 September 2024, damage has been verified to 69 cultural heritage sites in the territory, including 10 religious sites, 43 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, two depositories of movable cultural property, six monuments, one museum and seven archaeological sites.

Museums in the region have been documenting the war from both perspectives since it began. The Palestinian Museum in the West Bank is collecting stories and objects telling the Palestinian experience of the devastating conflict, which has seen more than 41,000 people in Gaza killed and a severe humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's ongoing military operations.

The National Library of Israel has collected more than 500 oral testimonies from those who experienced the 7 October atrocities, which saw around 1,200 people killed by Hamas militants and more than 250 people taken hostage. The library is also collecting archival material such as final text messages from victims and Go-Pro videos taken by militants.