Among the ruins of Gaza’s Great Omari Mosque, volunteers race to save a shattered library by Sally Ibrahim

For al-Amsi and her colleagues, the project is about more than rescuing damaged pages. It is also an act of cultural resistance in a territory where war has repeatedly threatened to erase physical and historical landmarks.

With limited resources and little outside assistance, the initiative relies almost entirely on volunteer labour and small donations from local supporters.

Still, al-Amsi hopes that international cultural organisations and conservation experts may eventually step in to help restore the salvaged manuscripts.

“Many of these books could still be repaired with proper restoration techniques,” she said. “But we currently lack the equipment and expertise needed to do that work.”

Until then, the volunteers continue their careful search through the ruins of the Omari Mosque library.

Each page lifted from the dust, they believe, carries a piece of Gaza’s past, and perhaps a small measure of hope for its cultural future.

“Saving these books is our way of protecting Gaza’s memory,” al-Amsi said quietly. “Even in the middle of destruction, we want the world to know that our history is still here.”