The Antiquities Authority was the first to arrive in the destroyed Gaz periphery communities that were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7 in order to document the scope of the destruction. The entire town was photographed using special drones and some houses – those particularly damaged, for instance – were recorded using laser scans and photogrammetry.
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It was a challenging project as the authority's drones were shot down several times by the IDF who misidentified the aircraft as well as due to frequent missile fire from the Gaza Strip.
Video: Volunteer describes horrific aftermath of Hamas onslaught / Credit: ZAKA Search and Rescue
Ami Shahar, the head of the Antiquities Authority's conservation department said, "We made a model of each settlement, and using a drone we scanned the streets and documented each house. We started with Be'eri, Nir Oz, Kfar Azza, Mefalsim, Alumim, Re'im, and the area where the Nova music festival was held. Now we are in Holit, and from there we'll go to Sufa and Kerem Shalom. So far, we've documented around 220 apartments and houses."
After the Antiquities Authority came the Yad Ben-Zvi research institute.
The team meticulously documented objects, taking close-up photographs, packing them, and transporting them to a temporary storage location to store in a future museum or to be reproduced.
During their work, the researchers came across objects that belong to hostages held in Gaza, such as the juicer of the Bibas family from Kibbutz Nir Oz, as well as children's toys, phones of the murdered, and more.
It is unclear yet where all these objects will find their new home – in one of the homes in the kibbutz that will be dedicated as a memorial site, a museum, or perhaps a virtual museum. Perhaps, viewers will be able to digitally visit these places in a few years and see the destruction that Hamas unleashed on the communities.
"Some homes will become heritage sites, from Kibbutz Zikim to Kerem Shalom," Director-General of the Heritage Ministry Nathaniel Isaac said. "Some communities will want to preserve the homes as is, others will prefer to rebuild and have a replica instead. Every decision will be based on dialogue with the communities."
"After all, the war will end and the time to reflect will come. And they will ask, 'What did you collect? What did you document? What will be a testament to the future and those who will deny the atrocities? That is why it was important for us to get to the ground quickly and take out what is still possible."
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