STORY: This was Gaza's Great Omari Mosque in Gaza's Old City before Israel's bombardment began in 2023.

It's one of many of the enclave's most important cultural sites that now lie in ruins.

With 70,000 dead, countless injured and hundreds of thousands homeless, the rebuilding of Gaza is almost beyond comprehension.

But at a handful of sites, workers are already busy digging out the few surviving remnants of the past.

Architect Hamuda al-Dahdar from the Center for Cultural Preservation and a team are working on saving what's left of the historical Pasha's Palace.

Dating back to the 13th century, it housed a museum whose treasures are now gone.

"Before the war, we carried out restoration and maintenance work on this important site, which used to receive many foreign and local visitors. But unfortunately, when this awe and the importance of this place disappeared at the beginning of the war... We are now restoring what remains of this important place by surveying the ancient stones, in preparation for future restoration work and to bring it back to life again."

Jehad Yasin, from the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities based in the West Bank, says officials and UNESCO are preparing a three-phase recovery plan with initial costs of $133 million for historical sites.

The first priority will be quickly intervening to support structures that could collapse without support.

But resources are limited and prices for materials have skyrocketed. 

Israeli forces say they struck the Great Omari Mosque to destroy what they said was a tunnel under its grounds used by fighters.

Palestinians say there is no sign of a tunnel there, and blame Israel for blasting apart the enclave's religious and cultural heritage.

"By God, we're very sad about what happened to the (Great Omari) mosque. Even the children, this is my young daughter, Kenzy, she's really sad. When we heard that the mosque has been hit, we were surprised, why? And when they also hit Pasha's Palace, we were certain that this occupation (referring to Israel) wants to wipe out the Palestinian identity and wipe out any Palestinian monument."

The Israeli military said any strike against Hamas targets that risks damaging such sites undergoes a rigorous approval process,

with the aim of minimizing harm to these sites and to the civilian population.