Thanks to Hamas’s policy of deliberately embedding its military infrastructure amid and beneath civilian areas, the current war has taken a serious toll on the Gaza Strip’s many archaeological sites. The Times of Israel reports:

While Israel has an army of archaeologists who have unearthed an impressive number of ancient treasures, Gaza remains relatively untouched by the trowel despite a rich past stretching back thousands of years. The only sheltered natural harbor between the Sinai and Lebanon, Gaza has been a crossroads of civilizations for centuries. A pivot point between Africa and Asia and a hub of the incense trade, it was coveted by the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Ottomans.

There are a few Gazan archaeologists, among them Fadel al-Otol; a Gazan businessman named Jawdat Khoudary has also made extensive efforts to collect and preserve artifacts.

The 13th-century al-Basha palace in Gaza City’s old town “has been completely destroyed. There was bombing and (then) it was bulldozed. . . . It held hundreds of ancient objects and magnificent sarcophagi,” Otol [said], sharing recent photos of the ruins.

Napoleon is said to have based himself in the ochre stone edifice at the disastrous end of his Egyptian campaign in 1799. The room where the French emperor supposedly slept was full of Byzantine artifacts.

But thanks to a few twists of fate, an impressive collection of over 250 artifacts from the Strip has been kept at a Geneva museum since 2006, and thus out of harm’s way.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.