Middle East Eye on Instagram: "Raneem Mousa lifts a heavy volume from a shattered shelf inside the centuries-old library of Gaza’s Great Omari Mosque.⁠ ⁠ With a small brush, she gently sweeps away layers of dust before passing the book to a colleague, who wipes it clean with a soft cloth.⁠ ⁠ Together, they carry it to what they call the “safest corner” - a small space reserved for the volumes they have managed to salvage.⁠ ⁠ It is a painstaking, improvised effort to rescue rare books and manuscripts from a historic collection devastated by Israeli bombardment during the genocide in Gaza.⁠ ⁠ “The library was filled with shrapnel, rubble, and dung from stray animals taking shelter,” Mousa, 35, told Middle East Eye.⁠ ⁠ “Hundreds of shattered books and torn papers were scattered on the ground, covered in stones.”⁠ ⁠ A master’s graduate in Arabic language, she is among a group of Palestinian women volunteers from the Eyes on Heritage Institute in Gaza City who have launched what they describe as a “first-aid” mission to preserve what remains.⁠ ⁠ They have set aside a small corner of the damaged library, carefully arranging the cleaned books by subject. Even there, the collection remains under constant threat.⁠ ⁠ “We often have to clean them again because the building is still in ruins and offers no real protection,” Mousa said.⁠ ⁠ “We are racing against the weather; the winter rain and wet wind are just as much an enemy as the bombs were.”⁠ ⁠ She hopes the initiative can secure funding for proper shelving, conservation materials and equipment to build a digital archive.⁠ ⁠ “People in Gaza have always taken pride in education and culture,” she said. “If we, the educated generation, do not protect these books, who will preserve them for those who come after us?”⁠ ⁠ ✍️📸: MEE/ Ahmed Dremly in Gaza City, occupied Palestine"

7,868 likes, 54 comments - middleeasteye on May 7, 2026: "Raneem Mousa lifts a heavy volume from a shattered shelf inside the centuries-old library of Gaza’s Great Omari Mosque.⁠ ⁠ With a small brush, she gently sweeps away layers of dust before passing the book to a colleague, who wipes it clean with a soft cloth.⁠ ⁠ Together, they carry it to what they call the “safest corner” - a small space reserved for the volumes they have managed to salvage.⁠ ⁠ It is a painstaking, improvised effort to rescue rare books and manuscripts from a historic collection devastated by Israeli bombardment during the genocide in Gaza.⁠ ⁠ “The library was filled with shrapnel, rubble, and dung from stray animals taking shelter,” Mousa, 35, told Middle East Eye.⁠ ⁠ “Hundreds of shattered books and torn papers were scattered on the ground, covered in stones.”⁠ ⁠ A master’s graduate in Arabic language, she is among a group of Palestinian women volunteers from the Eyes on Heritage Institute in Gaza City who have launched what they describe as a “first-aid” mission to preserve what remains.⁠ ⁠ They have set aside a small corner of the damaged library, carefully arranging the cleaned books by subject. Even there, the collection remains under constant threat.⁠ ⁠ “We often have to clean them again because the building is still in ruins and offers no real protection,” Mousa said.⁠ ⁠ “We are racing against the weather; the winter rain and wet wind are just as much an enemy as the bombs were.”⁠ ⁠ She hopes the initiative can secure funding for proper shelving, conservation materials and equipment to build a digital archive.⁠ ⁠ “People in Gaza have always taken pride in education and culture,” she said. “If we, the educated generation, do not protect these books, who will preserve them for those who come after us?”⁠ ⁠ ✍️📸: MEE/ Ahmed Dremly in Gaza City, occupied Palestine".