Full Breakdown
Gaza’s Tent Library Revives War-Damaged Books
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Rescuing and Restoring Books Amid Ongoing Conflict
Since the October 2025 ceasefire, volunteers in Gaza have been salvaging, repairing, and redistributing books that survived Israeli air strikes. The effort centers on a tent-based library called Athar in Deir el-Balah, where rescued volumes are cleaned, bound, and made available to children and students despite extreme conditions.
Background & Context
UNICEF reports that 98 percent of school buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged, leaving roughly 700,000 children without regular in-person education. UNESCO has documented extensive damage to cultural sites, including libraries, making books a scarce resource for learning and psychological relief.
Key Figures & Groups
- Mohammed Saad — 54-year-old founder of the Athar tent library.
- Omar Hamad — 30-year-old displaced resident who leads a team that has retrieved about 3,000 books from destroyed libraries.
- Jameel Mikdad — 71-year-old bookbinder in the Shati refugee camp who restores severely damaged volumes.
Timeline
- December 7 2023 – Saad’s pre-war personal library is destroyed.
- 2023-2025 – Air raids level homes, schools, and libraries; books become buried in rubble.
- October 2025 – Ceasefire reduces bombing, allowing volunteers to work openly in tents.
- 2026 – Athar operates daily, offering books for 5–15 shekels and a refundable 50-shekel deposit for borrowing.
Data & Statistics
- Saad recovered ?12,000 books from his home’s rubble.
- Hamad’s team has extricated ?3,000 books, including a 1956 edition of *The Catastrophe of Palestine*.
- A 3 kg container of white glue now costs 450–500 shekels (?$147–$163), up from 30–35 shekels (?$10–$11) before the siege.
- Books are sold at 5–15 shekels (?$1.63–$4.89) or lent for a 50-shekel (?$16.30) refundable deposit.
Official Statements & Responses
UNICEF’s assessment of school-infrastructure loss underscores the urgency of alternative learning resources. UNESCO’s documentation of library damage highlights the cultural loss the rescue effort seeks to mitigate.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I risked my life to save these books from beneath the rubble,” — Mohammed Saad
- “We took them with us so they could remain witnesses to this crime,” — Omar
On-the-Ground Reports
Children such as Aya al-Shawa, a 10-year-old sixth-grader, now receive rescued books like *The Adventure of the Empty House* by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. She says the novel helps her continue education while schools operate in crowded tents. Volunteers note that the tent offers limited protection from sun, heat, humidity, and rain, threatening the longevity of the restored volumes.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
No source provides a precise count of how many books remain beyond repair, nor does any outlet detail the long-term sustainability of the tent library under ongoing resource constraints.
What’s Next
Athar plans to expand its lending program, delivering books to schools throughout Gaza and training volunteers in basic restoration techniques. The rising cost of repair materials remains a critical challenge for future operations.