Gaza’s Ancient Port of Blakhiyeh Crushed By Israeli Tanks

The Gaza Strip, which covers an area of ​​360 square kilometres, includes dozens of archaeological sites. During the war that Israel launched on Gaza on October 7, 2023, missiles and shells have been fired at 43 archaeological and cultural sites, according to monitoring by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO.

UNESCO reports that these sites were destroyed – in whole or in part - between October 7, 2023 and April 8, 2024. Among those destroyed was Blakhiyeh (Anthedon), which includes the remains of Gaza’s ancient port.

In this investigation, we track the Israeli army’s targeting of the port, which is included on UNESCO’S Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. And, by analysing satellite images, we reveal the extent of destruction to this site, which is a breach of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property.

On the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean, at the northwestern tip of the Gaza Strip, lies Blakhiyeh - Anthedon. This site, covering around one square kilometre and sits 17 to 20 meters above sea level, includes the northwestern section of Al-Shati refugee camp and the adjacent shoreline area known as Al-Mashtal. It extends up to the street that connects the Sheikh Radwan area to the coast road.

The city of Anthedon was the first known seaport in Gaza and was inhabited between 800 BCE and 1100 CE. The port came under the control of the Neo- Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines, before the early Islamic era.

Before it was destroyed, the site included a number of archaeological remains such as mosaic floors, fortified structures, and submerged monuments. This permitted its listing as part of the UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List, following a submission by the Permanent Delegation of Palestine to UNESCO in April 2012.

UNESCO describes Anthedon as “an outstanding example of a type of architectural ensemble, showing a mixture of building materials and techniques.” Despite the site’s cultural heritage value, it was subjected to several violations in recent times.

An investigation by ARIJ in 2021, had revealed three such violations of the site that pre dated the latest war: the bulldozing of the mosaic floor inside a Byzantine church, prior to the inter Palestinian troubles in 2007; the construction of the Al-Shati Police Station by Hamas on the site in 2013; and the building of a stadium on its ground in 2018.

But these violations would not compare with what the site has been subjected to in the latest Israeli war. Satellite images compiled by Ollie Ballinger, Lecturer in Geo-Computation at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London (UCL), show moderate to severe damage to the northwestern and northeastern areas of the port.

Photos taken after six months of war show how the site has been turned into an area of sand interspersed with deep craters and all remains of archaeological monuments have disappeared.

Images provided by Palestinian archaeologist Fadel Alatel indicated that the Israelis had directly targeted the area and bulldozed it completely. We confirmed this by comparing satellite images from September 2022, with those taken in May 2024, available on the Planet Lab website.

Pre-war photos confirm the existence of archaeological remains in Area B of the port, where Palestinian archaeologist Fadel Alatel, and foreign experts carried out excavations, the last of which was in 2005. We managed to obtain a photo showing some of this excavation work. Despite the later encroachments, things stayed as they were at this site until the destruction caused by the Israeli invasion of Gaza which began on October 7, 2023.

We sent the recent photos of the site to archaeologist Marc-André Haldimann, of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bern in Switzerland, to identify the excavation sites and tell us what had happened to them. Haldimann confirmed that Area B, where the archaeological excavations took place, is within those parts of Blakhiyeh that were subjected to bombardment.

On November 4, 2023, the Al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas) released a video clip showing an Israeli tank being hit near the Al-Khalidi Mosque, about 800 meters from Al-Shati camp, as it was passing the edge of the archaeological site on route to the camp. The clip clearly indicates the period during which the archaeological remains in the port were being destroyed.

Another video clip, put out by the Israeli army, shows tanks arriving at the entrance to Al-Shati Camp. This means that they will have passed through the Blakhiyeh site to reach the outskirts of the camp.

A report from the Palestinian organisation Al-Haq (a Ramallah-based human rights NGO) states that the Israeli bombardment produced at least 30 craters in the archaeological site of Blakhiyeh Port, each between eight to 16 metres in diameter. Satellite images show craters of varying diameter in Areas A and B, and in surrounding sites.

A report broadcast on the American channel CNN, looked into Israel's use of 2,000 lb (or 900 Kg) bombs in Gaza.

CNN identified locations targeted with these bombs, which leave behind large craters, including in the Blakhiyeh archaeological site.

Images supplied to us by Palestinian archaeologist Fadel Alatel show the presence of large craters within the archaeological site, especially in Area B.

US President Joe Biden threatened to stop supplying Israeli with 2,000 lb (or 900 Kg) bombs, admitting that they have killed civilians in Gaza.

Destruction of archaeological sites is a violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The third paragraph of Article 4 of the Hague Convention states: “The High Contracting Parties further undertake to prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of, and any acts of vandalism directed against, cultural property. They shall refrain from requisitioning movable cultural property situated in the territory of another High Contracting Party.”

Dr Derek Fincham, a professor at South Texas College of Law, described the UNESCO assessment as “deeply disturbing,” pointing out that this damage to cultural heritage sites could fall within the scope of the 1954 Hague Convention.

He added that both Israel and Palestine are parties to the convention, and bear responsibility for protecting cultural heritage during armed conflicts. "It is difficult to assess from a distance the extent of damage to cultural heritage, beyond what has been documented by UNESCO and other international bodies and observers."

Dr Fincham, a lecturer specializing in heritage protection law, added: “One aspect of the Hague Convention is the principle of military necessity. This permits damage to important cultural sites, if this is required to achieve a military objective. This is a broad and non-specific aspect of the legal framework.”

This investigation was completed with support from ARIJ