It is one symbolic gesture in times of war: The World Heritage Committee of the world cultural organization Unesco decides to To add the Monastery of Saint Hilarion in the Gaza Strip to the World Heritage List In addition, the monastery, founded in Byzantine times, is on the list of endangered world heritage site.
Given the immediate threat related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip The World Heritage Committee has Urgent procedure The organisation said that this was in recognition of the monastery’s exceptional universal value and the obligation to to protect it in the face of impending dangers.
The Monastery of Saint Hilarion, also known as Tell Umm Amer, was founded by Saint Hilarion and housed the first monastic community in the Holy Land Located at the crossroads of the most important trade and exchange routes between Asia and Africa, it was, according to UNESCO, a centre of religious, cultural and economic exchange and exemplified the prosperity of the desert monastic sites of the Byzantine period.