The Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday that the total number of mosques targeted by the Israeli occupation since the beginning of the war of annihilation in October 2023 has reached 1,244 out of 1,275 mosques in the Gaza Strip, including 1,077 mosques that were completely destroyed.
In a statement, the Ministry explained that targeting service facilities associated with religious institutions, as well as damaging and burning mosques, reveals once again the occupation’s deliberate targeting of the foundations of life and everything that serves the Palestinian people.
The Ministry strongly condemned the latest crime committed by the occupation army in targeting the historic Abu Salim Mosque in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and the prayer hall of the Asqalan Mosque in the northern Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City. This resulted in the destruction of parts of the Abu Salim Mosque and the complete destruction of the Asqalan prayer hall.
The Ministry stated that this blatant attack is yet another in a series of systematic crimes targeting mosques, places of worship, and holy sites, in flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship and international laws and norms.
The Gaza Endowments Ministry condemned the Israeli occupation’s targeting of a water desalination plant and the Al-Salam Market, a project belonging to the Sheikh Radwan Zakat Committee affiliated with the Ministry. The attack resulted in their complete destruction, in addition to partial damage to the prayer hall of the Al-Radwan Mosque in the Sheikh Radwan area, west of Gaza City.
The Ministry asserted that the Israeli entity’s targeting, destruction, or damage of mosques and prayer halls is not merely an attack on physical structures, but an assault on the identity, faith, and right of the Palestinian people to practice their religious rites. It is also an attempt to obliterate their cultural and religious landmarks and destroy everything connected to their lives and institutions.
The Gaza Endowments Ministry held the Israeli entity fully responsible for these crimes, calling on the international community, human rights organizations, and relevant bodies to assume their responsibilities, put an end to these attacks, and hold Israeli occupation leaders and those responsible for these crimes accountable before international justice.
