Children seize books in the Phénix library in Gaza, on Aug. 11, 2026. (Credit: Instagram account phoenix_library1, courtesy of the library)
The first book this passionate reader saved from annihilation in February 2024 was called "The Catastrophe of Palestine," a title that reads like an omen. "Finding this book in a mostly burned library, in the midst of genocide, struck me as a sign of destiny," recounts Omar Hamad, in Gaza, whom we reached by phone on July 11. Access to the occupied enclave has been forbidden to foreign journalists by Israel since the war began in October 2023. He describes this cathartic moment with tact: "I sat for a quarter of an hour reflecting. That’s when I decided to save Gaza’s books, prioritizing those printed in the enclave or elsewhere in Palestine before 1948," he confides.That day, the man in his 30s, with a neatly trimmed mustache, slender physique and nostalgic eyes, embarked on a quixotic quest: while some...
The first book this passionate reader saved from annihilation in February 2024 was called "The Catastrophe of Palestine," a title that reads like an omen. "Finding this book in a mostly burned library, in the midst of genocide, struck me as a sign of destiny," recounts Omar Hamad, in Gaza, whom we reached by phone on July 11. Access to the occupied enclave has been forbidden to foreign journalists by Israel since the war began in October 2023. He describes this cathartic moment with tact: "I sat for a quarter of an hour reflecting. That’s when I decided to save Gaza’s books, prioritizing those printed in the enclave or elsewhere in Palestine before 1948," he confides.That day, the man in his 30s, with a neatly trimmed mustache, slender physique and nostalgic eyes, embarked on a quixotic quest: while...
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