Iconic Gaza bookstore reopens, months after Israeli strike

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — An iconic Gaza bookstore destroyed in an Israeli airstrike last year has reopened. A dedication ceremony on Thursday lifted the spirits of the store’s ecstatic owner and a large crowd of well-wishers. The five-story building that housed Samir Mansour’s bookstore on its ground floor was reduced to rubble during the 11-day war between Israel and the Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers in May. The 100,000 books at the shop became piles of torn papers mired in ash and dust. Mansour says he feels like he was “born again.” His bookstore was popular with university students and the general public. Mansour is known for being able to acquire even the hardest-to-get titles.