A view of the library of the Great Omari Mosque as the initial rescue and restoration of books and manuscripts destroyed during Israel's two-year bombardment of the Gaza Strip, begins in the old town of Gaza City on February 26, 2026. Inside the dusty shell of one of the oldest libraries in the Palestinian territories, a group of Gazan volunteers work diligently to salvage what remains of their ancient cultural heritage. The library was estimated to contain about 20,000 books, but currently are left with fewer than 4,000 books. The Great Omari Mosque library sustained terrible damaged during the war in Gaza, which erupted in October 2023 and devastated swathes of the Palestinian territory, including cultural and religious sites. As of January 2026, the UN's cultural agency UNESCO, had verified damage to 150 sites since the start of the war on October 7, 2023 sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)