Samir Mansour Library

Samir Mansour Library

Samir Mansour Library is one of the most important and largest libraries in Gaza City. It is located on the 30th Street, which includes three universities: Al-Azhar, Al-Aqsa University, and the Islamic University. The Kahil building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

At its height, the library contained more than 400,000 books on religion, culture, literature, politics, economics, and children's stories, in addition to being part of a publishing house that focuses on publishing the works of Palestinian writers. It is a prominent cultural community center in the sector that serves the local community and Palestinian school students. The library was nominated for the Voltaire Prize in 2021.

History

The library was founded by Samir Mansour in 2000, who had worked with his father since 1980 in the field of printing and books. In the early 1980s, Mansour was just 15 years old when he took his first job, helping his father in the library. In 2000, he further developed his father's project by establishing a publishing house, and began publishing the works of local authors, which later became an essential outlet for Palestinian authors and educators, especially after the tight siege on the Gaza Strip in 2006.

Destruction

Opening of Samir Mansour Library

Israeli occupation of the West Bank The library was first destroyed in May of the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis by Israeli airstrikes, costing the library $700,000. Human rights lawyers Mahvish Roxana and Clive Stafford Smith launched a fundraising campaign for the library, which suffered from severe shortages of building supplies during its reconstruction due to the severe blockade of the Gaza Strip. However, it reopened in February 2022 in the presence of Palestinian Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif and a number of writers and intellectuals after receiving support from around the world. It was rebuilt 100 meters from its previous location, and the opening was accompanied by posters reading “Like a phoenix from the ashes, we rise again”. The library returned with an area of 1000 square meters and 300,00 books

The library was severely damaged in the first weeks of the Israel–Hamas war. It contained more than 400,000 books before the bombing. The damage was filmed by Samir Mansour and posted to social media.