Israeli airstrike destroys Said al-Mishal cultural centre in Gaza

In the night between August 9 and 10, 2018, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip in response to a large-scale rocket launch by Hamas, hitting over 140 targets. Among them was the Said al-Mishal Centre, a five-story cultural hub founded in 2004 and named after Palestinian businessman and politician Said Al-Mishal. It housed exhibition spaces, a theatre, a library, offices for artistic associations, a children's recreational centre, and a literary café frequented by dancers, actors, and artists. The raid killed three people and injured at least 18, causing extensive damage. On August 15, a small group gathered on the rubble for an open-air singing and poetry performance as an act of resistance. Fourteen prominent British theatre figures, including National Theatre director Rufus Norris and playwright Caryl Churchill, sent a letter to The Guardian condemning the bombing as a devastating loss for the isolated community and pledging support for the centre's reconstruction.