Finally, from us, a culture at risk.

Gaza has suffered through catastrophic war since the October 7th Hamas terror attack on Israel.

It has been a war that is severely damaged or destroyed much of a rich artistic history.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown looks at the loss, but also the hope that the arts could create a better future. It's part of our

arts and series culture, Canvas.

A tapestry of color and coastline, old city markets, and ancient monuments, a place layered with more

than 5,000 years of history.

To the outside world, Gaza was known as a conflict zone,

caged for 16 years even before the war.

But it was also filled with life, both every day and extraordinary.

Now much of it looks apocalyptic. According to the UN, nearly

two years of Israeli bombardment has destroyed 90 percent of its built environment, its infrastructure,

residential buildings. And as of November 2025 UNESCO has verified damage to 145 historical, religious and archaeological

sites.

Palestinian officials say the actual number is much higher.

Gaza is not just a place of war and conflict.

It is a place where cultural heritage has flourished for thousands of years.

Mahmoud Hawari is a professor of archaeology who teaches at several Palestinian universities

and has spent decades studying Gaza's ancient past.

He said the destruction is not just a humanitarian catastrophe, but an erasure of civilization's memory.

This is a huge loss not only for the people of Gaza, but also for humanity,

because these buildings and this history of Gaza are belonging to human history,

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