cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/6131537

An official in charge of nearly three decades of archaeological finds in Gaza has described how the artefacts were hurriedly evacuated from a Gaza City building threatened by an Israeli strike.

“This was a high-risk operation, carried out in an extremely dangerous context for everyone involved – a real last-minute rescue,” said Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), which housed the relics.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli authorities ordered EBAF – one of the oldest academic institutions in the region – to evacuate its archaeological storehouse on the ground floor of a residential tower in Gaza City that was due to be targeted.

The Israeli army did not confirm the warning when asked by AFP, but several sources said France, Unesco and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem played a key role in securing a brief reprieve that allowed most of the artefacts to be removed.

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