3 April 2026 10:16 am
The Image from Gaza That Still Haunts Me Today

The Image from Gaza That Still Haunts Me Today

Mar 31, 2026

Street view of an urban alley with ‘Stop Genocide In Gaza’ graffiti on pavement. by Philippe WEICKMANN via pexels

 

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The image from Gaza that still haunts me: Palestine relief agency chief

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March 31, 2026 by 
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A man speaking passionately at a press conference in front of a United Nations backdrop.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini briefs the press at UN Headquarters in New York. (file)

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Asking the softly spoken, veteran humanitarian worker Philippe Lazzarini how he feels as he comes to the end of his second term as the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is perhaps an unfair question.

“No doubt that I have mixed feelings today,” he says. “Bitterness, because I have been at the forefront over the last two years of extraordinary breaches of international law, witnessing atrocities, attacks against the United Nations; sadness, because many of our colleagues have been killed – nearly 400 in two years – that’s never been seen in the entire United Nations history.

“But, also some pride, because over the last two years, I have seen how our staff…have been extraordinarily committed to try to alleviate the suffering of a number of their own communities”.

Air strikes on Gaza are continuing. (file)

Air strikes on Gaza continue. (file)

© WHO/Ahmed Zakot

Aftermath of 7 October

In addition to being the face of an organization constantly berated and accused online of collaborating with Hamas fighters in Gaza, the 62-year-old Swiss national has watched the disastrous impact of the Israeli war on the enclave’s people and his agency, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel, in October 2023.

A high-level UN investigation into the accusations against UNRWA found that of 19 staff members accused of involvement in the terror attacks, one case was found to lack any supporting evidence and nine others lacked sufficient evidence to indicate involvement.

In the remaining nine cases, evidence indicated that the UNRWA staff may have been involved in the 7 October attacks, at which point the agency announced they would be sacked.

Today, the misery and death across the Gaza Strip continues, with one Gazan encounter from early in the conflict particularly hard to forget, despite Mr. Lazzarini’s many years working in conflict settings around the world, from Angola to Iraq and Somalia to South Sudan.

Haunted by hunger with human eyes

“It was a young girl I met in Rafah four weeks into the war and already I saw her with empty eyes begging in fact for a sip of water, a loaf of bread, in the school where she used to be a student. So, the school [that] should be a place of joy and education became a place of misery and shelter for these young girls. And I have to say, I have been haunted by this.”

And although there is a ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas fighters and Israel today, it is “in name only”, he insists, with people still being killed because they do not know where the shifting border is between them and the Israeli military.

“It’s nothing else than just misery,” he continues. “We might have reversed the tide of deepening hunger in Gaza but nothing else. People are still living in the rubble, are still waiting for hours to get some clean water. They are fighting and struggling against disease.”

Children in Gaza receive hot meals during Ramadan from a community kitchen, highlighting the impact of displacement and humanitarian aid.

Children wait to be served a hot meal at a communal kitchen in Gaza.

© WFP/Maxime Le Lijour

No real alternative

Amid such suffering, Mr. Lazzarini dismisses suggestions that another body could take UNRWA’s place. “You do not have an existing alternative in Gaza,” he insists. “UNRWA is the only organization which has the manpower, the expertise, the community trust when it comes to public health, education services. There are no other NGOs or UN organizations. But we also know that the Palestinian Authority is not ready to take over these services.”

Beyond the attacks on UNRWA staff and on hundreds of the agency’s buildings in Gaza, its ability to provide key services in Gaza and beyond has been severely limited by a lack of financial support from the international community to match the three-year extension of its mandate passed by the UN General Assembly last December.

Running on empty

Despite austerity measures – including reduced services and a 20 per cent salary cut for most local staff – Mr. Lazzarini’s warning to the General Assembly President that UNRWA “may soon no longer be viable” without hard cash still stands. But political support is invaluable, too, and not just for his agency’s survival, he explains.

“The attacks on UNRWA are not an exception, cannot be dealt (with) in isolation. If we tolerate it for an agency like ours, others will follow. And that’s exactly what happened in Gaza: the UN agencies have been finger-pointed at being infiltrated by Hamas to justify action against them…And now we hear exactly the same narrative, we see the same pattern being implemented in Lebanon.”

UNRWA teams in Gaza City continue to provide medical services.

UNRWA teams in Gaza City continue to provide medical services.

© UNRWA

Israel’s ‘silent war’ on the West Bank

Away from Gaza, the dire situation for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank facing increasing attacks by Israeli settlers has also highlighted the “silent war” taking place there “in total impunity”, Mr. Lazzarini continues.

In January, Israeli bulldozers moved into UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and proceeded to demolish buildings there, as an Israeli flag was hoisted atop the UN complex – a move strongly condemned as a violation of international law by the global organization.

“When we talk about, you know, the respect of international law, we have seen that this blatant disdain and disregard – the fact that everything has been conducted without any respect of the rule of war – has also allowed now the spread of a conflict into Iran with no justification to initiate such a large-scale war impacting the entire region,” the UNRWA chief maintains.

Families flee their homes in the West Bank, due to the ongoing escalation of violence. (file)

© UNICEF/Alaa Badarneh

© UNICEF/Alaa Badarneh

Families flee their homes in the West Bank, due to the ongoing escalation of violence. (file)

‘Extreme pressure’

Despite the global turmoil raging around the world, back in Geneva, Mr. Lazzarini appears relaxed. He could easily be mistaken for a visitor in his wax coat, suede shoes, jacket and tie, but clothes are perhaps the last thing on his mind.

Readily conceding that he has faced “extreme pressure” from attacks against himself and UNRWA in the past two years, the top UN diplomat cites his family’s support as one of the principal reasons why he has been able to continue working.

“I haven’t been present over the last two years,” he says, adding determinedly that once he leaves UNRWA, his plans include playing catch-up “to retrieve” his wife and children, as well as writing about his experiences at the helm of a UN agency whose future remains at the mercy of geopolitics.

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini visits colleagues in Gaza.

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini visits colleagues in Gaza.

© UNRWA (file)

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Dahiyeh: The Beirut Suburb Under Military Fire

Dahiyeh: The Beirut Suburb Under Military Fire

Mar 23, 2026

Panoramic view of dense residential buildings along Jounieh’s waterfront in Lebanon, highlighting urban architecture. by Jo Kassis via pexels

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Dahiyeh: the Beirut suburb at the heart of an Israeli military doctrine

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John Nagle, Queen’s University Belfast and Edouardo Wassim Aboultaif, Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK)

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Dahiyeh: The Beirut Suburb Under Military Fire

Israeli airstrikes on the south Beirut suburb of Dahiye, March 9 2026.  EPA/Wael Hamzeh

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Over the ten days of the renewed conflict in the Middle East, Beirut’s southern district of Dahiyeh has been targeted by Israel, which is looking to deal a knockout blow to Hezbollah.  It’s not the first time the area has been bombarded.  Dahiyeh was bombed by Israel during its 2006 war with Hezbollah, again in 2014 and yet again in 2024 and 2025.  Now the Israel Defense Forces is bombing the area again.

The attacks mark the return of a strategy first developed by the Israeli armed forces in Dahiyeh before becoming a military doctrine, bearing the name of the suburb.  The Dahiyeh doctrine is a military strategy that calls for using overwhelming and disproportionate force against civilian infrastructure in areas controlled by hostile armed groups in order to deter attacks on Israel. It has repeatedly put into practice in Gaza. Now the Dahiyeh doctrine is once again being enacted in the place where it was first conceived.

Dahiyeh is a Hezbollah stronghold. It became the main urban centre for Lebanon’s Shia population in the middle of the last century, as poor Shia families from Baalbek and southern Lebanon migrated to Beirut’s suburbs.

During the civil war between 1975 and 1990, Hezbollah established its urban base in the southern suburbs of Beirut.  Dahiyeh – the word means “suburb” – is the heart of Hezbollah’s political, social and service networks.  Which is why it has become a target for Israel’s military.

Byword for mass urban destruction

The doctrine was developed in the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon war between Israel and Hezbollah.  Israel’s military leadership realised that Hezbollah had stalled their advance in urban combat.

To respond to this, the director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Gabi Siboni, a former senior IDF officer, wrote a paper in the INSS journal in October 2008, arguing for the use of overwhelming force against both fighters and the urban environment in which they operated and lived.

This was developed by the IDF into a working strategy. As Gadi Eisenkot, head of the army’s northern division, explained at the time: “What happened in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on. We will apply disproportionate force on it (the village) and cause great damage and destruction there.  From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases.  This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved.”

 

The primary goal of the doctrine was punishment and deterrence. The idea was to disrupt civilian life and make reconstruction almost impossible to afford. The doctrine’s architects hoped that its outcome would force the civilian population to rebel against the armed groups sheltering among them.

Siboni had made clear in his paper that this strategy was also applicable to Israel’s conflict in Gaza. In 2014, Operation Protective Edge targeted civilian infrastructure, including private houses as well as water, sanitation, electricity and healthcare facilities.  Again, after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the IDF has applied the Dahiyeh doctrine in the Gaza Strip, this time destroying between 80% and 90% of its civilian infrastructure.

Critics argue this violates international humanitarian law (IHL). IHL demands that states and groups make a clear distinction between civilians and combatants. It is necessary for armed groups to take all precautions to avoid acts of extreme destruction in heavy civilian residential locations.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned that the blanket evacuation orders directed at Dahiyeh’s population risk violating international humanitarian law, saying they risk amounting to “prohibited forced displacement”.  While Israeli strategists defend the doctrine as a means to defeat groups like Hezbollah, critics describe it as a template for handing out indiscriminate punishment to combatants and civilians alike.

What this means for Lebanon

The attacks on Dahieyh come at yet another fragile moment for Lebanon. The power-sharing government, led by the prime minister, Nawaf Salam, with the president, Joseph Aoun, as head of state, is still trying to implement economic reforms after the catastrophic 2019 financial collapse (estimated by the World Bank to be among the top three most severe economic crises globally since the mid-19th century). The latest round of conflict will severely set back the Lebanese government’s attempts to rebuild the economy.

Dahiyeh: The Beirut Suburb Under Military Fire Wrecked buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut.

Repeat performance: Dahiyeh has regularly been a target for Israeli bombardment.  Before the past ten days, the most recent previous attack was in 2025. EPA/Wael Hamzeh

The brunt of Israel’s assault on Lebanon is being felt in Dahiyeh. UN officials had estimated that the latest Israeli evacuation orders have forced at least 100,000 people to leave the area for shelters across Lebanon.

So far, the Lebanese government’s response is to try to pull Hezbollah back from yet another drawn-out war with Israel. On March 2, Aoun formally banned Hezbollah from engaging in military activities and ordered the group to surrender its weapons to the Lebanese army. The government has also postponed the legislative election scheduled for May 2026 by two years.

The Lebanese government has put forward a four-point plan and called for an Israeli ceasefire to allow negotiations to proceed. The plan calls for “establishing a full truce” with Israel, the disarmament of Hezbollah and direct negotiations with Israel “under international auspices”.

But the international community seems incapable of applying any pressure to change the situation in Lebanon. As of March 9, by UN estimates, nearly 700,000 people had been forced from their homes, including 200,000 children.  Meanwhile, the IDF continues to carry out strikes in Dahiyeh.

The Dahiyeh doctrine is so effective for the IDF because it is designed to move faster than the often glacial workings of international diplomacy. It can accomplish a military objective before the international community can craft an agreed and workable plan. This is not the only time residential districts have been bombed or civilian infrastructure targeted. Far from it.  Modern warfare is full of examples of bombing civilian districts, and Hezbollah has also launched attacks against residential areas in Israel.

But in the years since the doctrine was first articulated, it has been observed at work in both Lebanon and in Gaza, where Israel’s approach to operating in civilian areas was was criticised by the UN after Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09 as an official military strategy “designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population”. As such, it’s a chilling illustration of the horror of modern warfare as waged in the Middle East today. And once again it appears to have come home to Dahiyeh.The Conversation

John Nagle, Professor in Sociology, Queen’s University Belfast and Edouardo Wassim Aboultaif, Assistant Professor, School of Law and Political Sciences, Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

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Ramadan, Water, And Energy: Seasonal Demand Insights

Ramadan, Water, And Energy: Seasonal Demand Insights

Mar 18, 2026

Serene view of wind turbines reflecting on water at sunset, symbolising renewable energy. by Flickr via pexels

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Ramadan, Water, And Energy: Why Seasonal Spikes Matter For MENA’s Future

Author: Fanack Water Editorial Team

Ramadan, Water, And Energy: Why Seasonal Spikes Matter For MENA’s Future

People eating in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Loyloy Thal via Pixabay)

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Water use surges across the Middle East and North Africa during Ramadan, and Saudi Arabia offers a clear example of how this seasonal peak exposes deeper stresses in the region’s water and energy systems.  As millions of people shift their daily routines, the demand for clean water and the power needed to deliver it both rise sharply.

Changing Water Use During Ramadan

In Saudi Arabia, water consumption climbs as households, mosques and restaurants prepare meals and gather for iftar and suhoor.  In 2025, about 10 million cubic meters of water were supplied each day during Ramadan, with plans to raise this to around 11 million cubic meters per day this year.  Much of this extra demand comes from cooking, cleaning, drinking and expanded ablution facilities in mosques, especially during evening prayers.​

Daily patterns also shift. Peak use often moves to late evening and early morning, when people break their fast and eat before dawn. This change in timing forces utilities to keep water flowing reliably at hours when demand is usually lower during the rest of the year. It also increases pressure on urban networks that already struggle with leakage and aging infrastructure in many MENA cities.

The Water–Energy Nexus In A Thirsty Region

Ramadan demand spikes sit on top of a much broader challenge: MENA is the most water-scarce region in the world.  The region hosts about 6 percent of the global population but has access to only around 1–2 percent of the world’s renewable freshwater resources.  To bridge this gap, many countries, especially in the Gulf, rely heavily on desalination, an energy-intensive technology that turns seawater into drinking water.

This is where the water–energy nexus becomes critical. Producing and pumping water requires large amounts of electricity and fuel, while energy systems themselves often depend on water for cooling and other processes. During Ramadan, when water use spikes, power plants and grids must ramp up to meet both direct electricity demand and the energy needs of desalination plants operating close to full capacity. In some countries, this compounds stress on already fragile grids and can increase the risk of service disruptions for both water and power.

Desalination, Renewables, And Seasonal Peaks

Because fossil fuels still supply most of the energy for desalination in MENA, seasonal demand peaks also mean higher emissions and costs.  At the same time, oil and gas markets remain volatile, making it risky to rely solely on conventional fuels to secure essential water supplies. This is pushing governments to explore cleaner and more flexible options.

Solar energy is especially promising. The region has some of the highest solar potential in the world, and countries like Saudi Arabia are rapidly expanding their solar capacity.  Solar power can provide low-cost energy for desalination during the day, while battery and thermal storage can shift part of that output into the evening peak around iftar.   Recent drops in battery prices strengthen the case for pairing desalination with storage, helping to smooth out Ramadan spikes and reduce strain on the grid.

Broader Social And Environmental Implications

Ramadan also highlights social and environmental dimensions of water use. In Saudi Arabia, campaigns now urge pilgrims and worshippers to conserve water, especially Zamzam water, and to avoid wasteful practices such as using bottled water for ablution. Across the region, massive consumption of single-use plastic bottles during evening prayers raises concerns about waste, pollution and the carbon footprint of water distribution.

More broadly, seasonal stress comes on top of long-term trends: climate change, groundwater depletion, and rising demand from growing cities and farms. Poor communities, refugees and rural households are often the first to feel the impacts when supplies tighten or prices rise. In already tense basins like the Nile or the Tigris–Euphrates, water scarcity can aggravate political disputes and local conflicts.

Yet Ramadan also offers an opportunity. The month’s emphasis on moderation, stewardship and community can support messages around saving water, cutting waste and embracing more sustainable technologies. If governments, utilities, faith leaders and citizens act together, the way water is managed during Ramadan could become a model for how the region handles water stress year-round.

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Iran’s Cultural Heritage in the Crossfire: An Overview

Iran’s Cultural Heritage in the Crossfire: An Overview

Mar 14, 2026

Dramatic low angle shot of Azadi Tower with detailed architecture in Tehran, Iran. by Mohammad Ghazizadeh via pexels

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Iran’s cultural heritage in the crossfire – expert explains what has been damaged and what could be lost

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Katayoun Shahandeh, SOAS, University of London

Following joint attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, the country has come under repeated strikes. These attacks, which were ostensibly supposed to target Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, have also caused civilian casualties and damage to cultural sites.

Airstrikes near historic districts in Tehran and Isfahan have damaged monuments that have survived for centuries. The losses highlight how war can endanger not only lives but also the historical memory embedded in cities and landscapes. As an Iranian art historian, watching these events unfold in my country is deeply and doubly painful.

Iran contains one of the world’s richest concentrations of historic architecture and urban heritage. The country has 29 Unesco world heritage sites, spanning more than two millennia, from ancient imperial capitals to Islamic urban ensembles and desert cities. Yet monuments that have survived centuries of invasions, political upheaval and regime change remain vulnerable in modern conflict. Even when heritage sites are not deliberately targeted, nearby explosions, fires and shockwaves can damage fragile masonry, glazed tiles and decorative interiors.

Cultural sites affected

In the capital, Tehran, airstrikes have damaged two important historic sites: Golestan Palace and the Grand Bazaar.

Golestan Palace, a Unesco world heritage site, served as the ceremonial residence of the Qajar dynasty in the 19th century. Its halls feature elaborate mirror mosaics, painted tiles and an architectural style blending Persian traditions with European influences, reflecting a moment when Iran was engaging more directly with global artistic currents.

The Tehran bazaar, meanwhile, is far more than a commercial district. Like many historic bazaars across the Middle East, it functions as a living urban organism linking trade, religious institutions and social life. Historically it has also played an important role in Iran’s political movements (being influential in the Iranian Revolution of 1978/79 with the support of the bazaar merchants for the eventual leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini) and economic networks.

Damage to such spaces therefore affects not only historic architecture but also the social and urban structures that shape everyday life.

Strikes have also affected Isfahan, one of Iran’s most important historic cities and the Safavid capital during a golden age of art, architecture and trade. Under Shah Abbas I, the city was transformed into an imperial centre of culture and urban planning, anchored by Naqsh-e Jahan Square, the monumental complex of mosques, palaces and bazaars that earned the nickname Nesf-e Jahan – “half the world”.

According to cultural heritage officials, blast waves affected several historic buildings including Timuri Hall, the Jebe-Khaneh building, the Rakib-Khaneh (Isfahan Museum of Decorative Arts), Ashraf Hall and the Chehel Sotoun palace complex. Damage reportedly included collapsed ceilings, broken doors and windows, and shattered glass at nearby monuments such as Ali Qapu Palace.

The damage in Isfahan is especially concerning because the city occupies a central place in Iran’s architectural and cultural history. The city flourished as the Safavid capital in the 17th century and remains one of the most important historic cities in the Islamic world. Even limited damage in this historic city raises serious concerns. Decorative elements such as tile work, murals and mirror mosaics are among the most fragile components of Safavid architecture and are extremely difficult to restore once lost.

International heritage organisations have also expressed alarm. The US committee of Blue Shield, an international NGO that works to protect cultural heritage during war and disasters, warned that disregarding international conventions protecting cultural property in wartime could lead to violations of international law. Blue Shield also referred to recent damage at sites including Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan and Golestan Palace in Tehran.

The vulnerability of Isfahan also highlights broader risks facing Iran’s cultural heritage. Sites such as Persepolis, the Achaemenid ceremonial capital; Pasargadae, home to the tomb of Cyrus the Great and the historic desert city of Yazd represent different layers of Iranian civilisation, from ancient imperial history to Islamic urban culture.

Why cultural heritage matters to Iranians

Iran’s historic monuments are not simply archaeological sites or tourist attractions. They form part of a cultural identity shaped by thousands of years of artistic, literary and architectural traditions. Cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan and Yazd are closely intertwined with the poetry of figures such as Hafez and Ferdowsi. Their works continue to shape Iranian cultural life today.

For many Iranians, historic monuments symbolise a sense of continuity linking the ancient Persian past, the Islamic period and the modern nation.

At the same time, concern for damaged monuments has provoked strong reactions online. On social media, posts lamenting the destruction of historic sites often draw angry responses arguing that human lives are more important than buildings. For many Iranians, already angered by war and years of internal repression – including the killing of protesters during waves of unrest – this contrast raises difficult questions about whose losses receive attention.

Some have also asked why the international community showed little concern when Iran’s ecosystems were being damaged over many years through environmental mismanagement. Lake Urmia, for example, which was once one of the world’s largest salt lakes, has lost most of its surface area due to dam construction and agricultural water diversion.

For many Iranians, these overlapping crises – environmental degradation, political repression and war – form part of a broader landscape of loss affecting both people and cultural memory.

When war damages historic monuments, more than architecture is lost. Fragments of cultural memory that have endured for centuries disappear with them.

Many of Iran’s historic sites have survived invasions, revolutions and political upheaval, yet today’s conflicts pose new risks when historic cities lie close to strategic targets. Once destroyed, these monuments cannot truly be replaced.

Protecting cultural heritage in times of conflict is therefore not only about preserving buildings, but about safeguarding the memories and histories that connect societies across generations.The Conversation

Katayoun Shahandeh, Lecturer in Museum Studies, SOAS, University of London

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Promoting Heritage Preservation for Sustainable Tourism

Promoting Heritage Preservation for Sustainable Tourism

Mar 11, 2026

pyramids, Egypt, Cairo, Giza, nature, tourism, history, travel, Egyptian, ancient, monument, architecture, old, landmark, Africa, pharaoh, summer, heritage by blueMix via pixabay

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Promoting Heritage Preservation for Sustainable Tourism in Egypt

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A Landmark in Science-Based Heritage Preservation and International Cooperation – the Royal Tomb of Amenhotep III (KV22)

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UNESCO 10 March 2026

Promoting Heritage Preservation for Sustainable Tourism in Egypt
UNESCO / Higashi Nippon Univ

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The completion of Phase III of the project “Conservation of the Wall Paintings of the Royal Tomb of Amenhotep III – KV22” marks a major milestone in safeguarding one of Egypt’s most significant royal monuments. Implemented under the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of the World Cultural Heritage, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the project crowns more than two decades of scientific collaboration between Egyptian and Japanese experts and reaffirms UNESCO’s commitment to sustainable heritage management. The UNESCO JFIT project aligned with UNESCO global mandate to protect cherished historic monuments and museums to living heritage practices and contemporary art forms, culture’s contribution to build inclusive, innovative and resilient communities. Through this project UNESCO is convinced that no development can be sustainable without a strong culture component.

Located in the Western Valley of the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of Amenhotep III forms part of the World Heritage property “Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis,” inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. Since its discovery in 1799, the tomb has faced progressive deterioration due to structural instability, salt crystallization, microbiological risks, and environmental fluctuations that threatened the integrity of its wall paintings and architectural features .

Scientific Conservation: Completing Phase III

The third and final phase of the project focused on completing remedial and preventive conservation works while preparing the site for sustainable reopening. Guided by internationally recognized principles of maximum stabilization and minimum intervention, the project ensured that all treatments respected the authenticity and material integrity of the monument .

Key interventions included the stabilization of fractured pillars in the burial chamber and adjacent side chambers, consolidation of cracks, re-adhesion of detached limestone fragments, cleaning and stabilization of painted surfaces, and preventive treatment of surrounding bedrock areas. All conservation processes were carefully documented through high-resolution photography and comprehensive technical reporting.

A major innovation of Phase III was the integration of advanced digital documentation. 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry were undertaken to create a detailed digital model of the tomb, establishing a scientific baseline for long-term monitoring and research . Environmental monitoring devices—including sensors measuring temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide levels, rainfall, and structural deformation—were installed both inside and outside the tomb to enable data-driven preventive conservation and adaptive management.

Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening

Promoting Heritage Preservation for Sustainable Tourism in Egypt

Beyond technical conservation, Phase III placed strong emphasis on strengthening national capacities to ensure sustainability. A total of 26 international and national experts collaborated across disciplines including conservation science, microbiology, engineering, Egyptology, and digital heritage documentation.

On site training sessions were organized for Egyptian conservators and inspectors, equipping them with practical skills in environmental monitoring, preventive conservation, and maintenance. A five-day heritage site management workshop brought together 25 professionals from MoTA, focusing on World Heritage principles, visitor impact assessment, conservation planning, and sustainable tourism management.

Culture is at the heart of most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, if the SDGs are grouped around economic, social, and environmental objectives as the three pillars of sustainable development and closely aligned with Egypt UN sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027) and Egyptian Government’s vision 2030 agenda.

The project had significantly contributed towards empowering the rural communities in the project site in-terms of enhanced institutional capacity in protecting and safeguarding Egypt’s cultural and natural heritage and supporting creativity and a dynamic cultural sector to fundamentally address the challenges of our time from climate change to poverty, inequality, the digital divide and ever more complex emergencies and conflicts.

Community engagement was also central to the project’s approach. Workshops targeting women, youth, and children in Luxor disseminated the results of the conservation works and raised awareness of the value of cultural heritage, reinforcing local ownership and pride. The project has contributed to the sustainable conservation  and eco-tourism strategy of local authorities.

Reopening KV22: A Shared Achievement

Following the completion of conservation works and final rehabilitation measures, the Tomb of Amenhotep III reopened to visitors in October 2025 . The reopening symbolizes the culmination of three conservation phases initiated in 2001 and reflects a model of sustained international cooperation built on scientific rigor, mutual trust, and shared responsibility.

Improved lighting, environmental controls, and interpretative materials now allow responsible access while safeguarding the monument’s fragile painted surfaces. The reopening reaffirms Egypt’s leadership in heritage preservation and demonstrates how international solidarity can translate into tangible results for humanity’s shared heritage.

The Way Forward: Ensuring Long-Term Sustainability

Sinage

While Phase III marks the completion of conservation works, safeguarding KV22 remains an ongoing commitment. The final report highlights the importance of continued environmental monitoring, periodic reassessment using 3D documentation, and careful visitor management strategies to mitigate fluctuations in humidity and temperature following reopening .

A comprehensive management plan is being developed in coordination with stakeholders to guide long-term preservation efforts. This plan will be reviewed cyclically and supported by additional site management workshops under UNESCO’s auspices. Continued multidisciplinary research is also recommended to assess potential microbiological and structural risks, particularly in light of increasing tourism pressures and climate-related challenges .

The conservation of KV22 offers a replicable model for science-based, community-oriented heritage management. It demonstrates that safeguarding cultural heritage is not solely about restoring monuments, but about strengthening institutions, empowering professionals, engaging communities, and building international partnerships that endure beyond project cycles.

Through the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust mechanism, the Government of Japan has played a pivotal role in supporting Egypt’s efforts to preserve one of humanity’s most remarkable royal tombs. The project beneficiaries acknowledged the financial support of the Government and people of Japan and Japanese Embassy in Egypt in funding the project. The completion of Phase III therefore represents not only the successful conservation of a monument, but a reaffirmation of global solidarity in protecting our shared cultural legacy for future generations.

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