Abdullah Azzam Mosque in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza is one of the mosques that have been destroyed by Israel. / Photo: Reuters
Israel’s year-long genocidal war on Gaza has devastated sacred spaces in the besieged Palestinian enclave, with the Zionist state targeting the very core of the territory’s religious identity.
The assault on places of worship and religious sites is not just collateral damage in a broader conflict but appears to be a deliberate campaign to erase Gaza’s spiritual and cultural heritage.
In a detailed report issued last week, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments revealed the alarming scale of destruction over the past year.
According to the report, Israel has destroyed at least 611 mosques and three churches and partially damaged 214 mosques during its aggressive bombardment of Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The devastation extends beyond Gaza, with illegal Zionist settlers in the occupied West Bank repeatedly storming and desecrating the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The report notes that Al-Aqsa was stormed 262 times in the past year, with Israeli settlers performing Jewish prayers at the Muslim holy site.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has led the charge, personally storming Al-Aqsa six times along with other far-right government ministers.
His provocative actions, including threats to establish a synagogue on the site, have fuelled tensions and intensified the occupation’s agenda to assert control over Palestinian holy places.
In Gaza, the destruction is staggering.
Palestinians perform Friday prayers at the ruins of a mosque in Khan Younis destroyed by Israel.
The report stated that 79 percent of the enclave’s mosques have been destroyed.
Besides, at least 19 cemeteries have been targeted, with graves exhumed and desecrated in what many see as an act of disrespect and violence against Palestinian dignity.
This widespread demolition of places of worship accentuates the broader assault on Gaza's religious and cultural identity.
The Ministry of Endowments also reported that 238 of its staff members have been killed, with 19 others detained by Israeli forces.
As the war continues, Gaza’s civilian population continues to suffer immensely.
The Health Ministry in Gaza announced that nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in 2023, with over 97,000 injured.
Approximately 10,000 people remain missing and are presumed dead under the rubble, with some experts warning that the true death toll could be four times higher than official figures.
The deliberate targeting of religious sites has sparked widespread condemnation from international human rights organisations.
Palestinians attend Friday prayers near the ruins of a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Euro-Med Monitor has warned that these attacks are part of an escalating discourse of religious hatred fueled by Israel’s far-right government.
The organisation has stated that Israeli officials are attempting to frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a religious war, using religious symbols and texts to incite violence and justify the expulsion of Palestinians from their land.
“Israeli officials have consistently attempted to link the ‘Israeli-Palestinian conflict’ to religion and use religious symbols and texts to incite attacks against and expel Palestinians from their land and deprive them of their basic human rights,” it said.
Rubble of a mosque that has been destroyed by Israeli attacks in southern Gaza.
Israel erasing Gaza’s religious heritage
Beyond the staggering death toll and destruction of homes and infrastructure, Palestinians in Gaza are also mourning the loss of their religious and cultural heritage.
The bombing of mosques, churches, and cemeteries has left a deep scar, as these places are not just physical structures but symbols of history, memory, and faith.
The deliberate erasure of such spaces deprives Palestinians of tangible links to their past and disrupts the continuity of their cultural identity.
Many of the religious sites that have been reduced to rubble date back thousands of years, representing centuries of history and collective memory.
These acts of destruction violate international humanitarian law and the laws of war.
Under the Rome Statute, intentional attacks on historic monuments and religious sites are considered serious crimes, yet the international community has so far failed to hold Israel accountable for its actions.
A mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes amid a temporary truce, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
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