Palestinians try to salvage Gaza's Great Omari Mosque from the ruins of Israeli strikes

Описание: (14 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 24 December 2025
1. Various of destroyed minaret of Great Omari Mosque seen through destroyed wall of building
2. Various of destroyed mosque
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ismail Al- Mishal, Gaza resident:
“The Great Mosque of Gaza (Great Omari Mosque) is an ancient historical site, and this mosque holds a special place and great significance in the hearts of all the people of the Gaza Strip, not just those in Gaza City. During Ramadan, we used to come here to perform the Taraweeh prayers. We enjoyed beautiful evenings praying, for its restoration, asking God Almighty to rebuild it so that it would return to its former glory as a historical and archaeological landmark of Gaza and of all of Palestine.”
4. Various of destroyed mosque
5. Various of workers moving rubble during restoration process in Al-Omari Mosque
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ismail Al- Mishal, Gaza resident:
“It is very sad to see the ancient stones, bearing the marks of all of history, scattered here and there. The places where we used to pray are now destroyed and ruined. For us, it was a great tragedy to see our mosque, where we used to pray, demolished and destroyed, with everything in it ruined.”
7. Various of religious books piled up on ground inside destroyed mosque library
8. Various of sign outside library’s door, reading (Arabic) 'My God, increase me in knowledge.'
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Daher, Gaza resident:
“We cried for the mosque because of what happened to it, and we were deeply saddened. Then we were displaced, and we returned after two months and saw it, and we were very saddened.”
10. Various of workers removing rubble
11. Various of destruction of Omari Mosque
12. People walking on street outside detroyed mosque
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Daher, Gaza resident:
“There was fear surrounding the mosques because, as you know, they were bombed while people were praying inside. Many mosques were bombed while people were inside, and people were killed. Therefore... we were unable to reach the mosques to pray in them.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 9 January 2026
14. Various of destruction of Al-Ameen Mohammad Mosque
15. Various of destruction of Khalid Bin Al-Waleed Mosque
STORYLINE:
Ismail Al-Mishal was one of many residents of Gaza City who used to visit and pray at the Great Omari Mosque, before it was destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war.

“This mosque holds a special place and great significance in the hearts of all the people of the Gaza Strip” he said while looking at the damaged mosque.

Today, much of the mosque stands in ruins — like most of Gaza — after being hit by Israeli strikes in the two-year war muffled by an uncertain ceasefire.

“It is a very sad to see the ancient stones, bearing the marks of all of history, scattered here and there. The places where we used to pray are now destroyed and ruined," Al-Mishal added.

Gone too is some of the heritage of a land with a rich history going back to ancient times.

“We cried for the mosque because of what happened to it, and we were deeply saddened," said Gaza resident Mohammad Daher.

"Then we were displaced, and we returned after two months and saw it, and we were very saddened."

The mosque was built on a site where a Byzantine church had stood, and changed hands and even religions as one invader followed another.

With major military operations largely halted, Palestinians are beginning to gain a clearer picture of the destruction.








It did not provide evidence.


















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