A War on Faith: Why 'Israel' Has Destroyed 89% of Gaza’s Mosques

Gaza City, known for its bustling mosques, towering minarets across the entire Strip, and Quran memorization centers attracting many of Gaza's children, has witnessed widespread devastation. Since the outbreak of the Israeli genocidal war on October 7, 2023, the Israeli Occupation has made the destruction of the region’s Islamic landmarks one of its unspoken objectives, causing colossal damage after decades of Jewish religious incitement.

Israeli forces have relentlessly targeted mosques and Quranic education centers in Gaza, using various forms of bombardment, while carrying out horrific massacres by attacking places of worship with worshippers inside. As Israeli Occupation troops advance into Gaza, they storm mosques and immediately deploy engineering units to plant explosives and destroy mosques that had not yet been targeted.

Immense Destruction

Since the start of the relentless assault, “Israel” has destroyed 89% of Gaza's mosques, with 1,109 out of 1,244 mosques attacked, either partially or completely. A staggering 834 mosques have been reduced to rubble, while 275 others have suffered severe damage, making them uninhabitable, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.

The Israeli Occupation military has methodically demolished significant Islamic historical and cultural landmarks in Gaza, starting with the early months of the genocide, including the Great Omari Mosque in Gaza City, one of Palestine's key Islamic landmarks, and the mosque of Sayed al-Hashim, believed to house the tomb of Hashim bin Abd Manaf, the grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Other targets have included the Khatib Mosque and the Grand Mosque in Jabalia.

In addition to mosques, the Israeli Occupation destroyed 643 Islamic endowment properties, including Quran memorization centers and religious offices, alongside nearly 30 religious educational institutions. The Israeli forces also targeted 30 administrative offices belonging to the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, including the ministry’s headquarters. Soldiers set fire to libraries and storage facilities used to print and store Quranic materials for children attending memorization sessions, destroying thousands of religious books and pamphlets.

“Israel” also bombed religious media outlets, including Radio Quran, resulting in the deaths of several staff members. Hundreds of religious leaders were also martyred during the ongoing war on Gaza.

The Israeli army has committed horrific massacres at mosques, with the most notable being the Fajr Massacre at the al-Taba’een Mosque on August 10, 2024, where Israeli Occupation forces targeted worshippers with three incendiary rockets, killing over 100 people and injuring hundreds more. On November 15, 2023, they targeted worshippers at the Sunna Revival Mosque in the al-Sabra neighborhood, killing over 50. Similarly, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in Deir al-Balah was bombed on October 6, 2024, killing 21 worshippers, while the White Mosque in the al-Shati Refugee Camp was struck on July 13, 2024, killing over 10 people.

Religious Hatred

Alongside its bloody tactics targeting worshippers, Israeli forces are channeling their religious hatred into desecrating mosques, defiling the Quran, and engaging in vile acts before destroying the places of worship.

Israeli soldiers have boasted about their crimes against Gaza's mosques, posting multiple videos showing the destruction of mosques timed with Jewish prayers, as well as footage of their storming and defiling the mosques.

A recent visit by Al-Estiklal to several mosques in Gaza City revealed the scale of the destruction, witnessing firsthand the damage to religious structures. Soldiers had written Hebrew phrases on the domes of destroyed mosques and drew the Star of David on them.

Ahmed Abu Abdo, a resident of Gaza City, described how Israeli Occupation troops would storm mosques, committing atrocities against Islam before setting them on fire and demolishing them. “While we were sheltering in a school in western Gaza due to the ground invasion, we heard sounds coming from a nearby mosque. A soldier was making derogatory remarks about Islam and God,” he said.

“He began mocking the call to prayer, mispronouncing the words, with his comrades laughing around him. It was a distressing time, and all the displaced people in the school were  seen upset.”

Abu Abdo added that after the Israeli forces withdrew, he went to areas like the al-Shati Refugee Camp, the port area, and the Shalihat neighborhood, where he saw the devastation firsthand. “The soldiers completely destroyed the mosques. They threw the Qurans in the streets, drew offensive images on the rubble, and wrote Hebrew inscriptions.”

The desecration of mosques did not stop at defiling and destruction; Israeli forces even deployed drone aircraft to fire upon newly built prayer spaces, dropping explosive and incendiary bombs while worshippers were inside, preventing them from praying.

The ‘Worship’ of Destruction

The massive destruction of mosques and the horrific massacres of worshippers came after a long history of religious incitement and rabbinical fatwas, with the genocide war creating a fertile ground for these campaigns against places of worship.

For decades, Jewish religious authorities have issued fatwas calling for the destruction of mosques, the most prominent being the fatwa by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, head of the Temple Institute (Machon HaMikdash), which advocated for the destruction of all mosques in Palestine.

Rabbi Meir Benetzkopichin also called for the burning of mosques and the obliteration of Islamic landmarks during an interview with Israeli Channel Two.

These crimes against Islamic sanctities have been met with Arab and Islamic silence, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated comments about the imminent widespread Arab normalization.

“The Israeli Occupation forces burned the mosques and the Qurans, desecrating places of worship, a practice justified by their rabbis. To them, this is worship, a fulfillment of their distorted religious teachings,” Sheikh Bashar Balaima told Al-Estiklal.

“Their war is with Islam and Muslims. They burned and destroyed our mosques, bombed our minarets, desecrated our Qurans, yet the Muslim world did not react. War criminal Netanyahu, with every massacre, cites a Jewish text justifying his crimes. This is, above all, a religious war.”

Balaima voiced disbelief at the Arab and Islamic silence, saying it has only emboldened the occupiers—fueling even more brazen and hate-fueled attacks on Islam.

“We once felt pride when we saw the Islamic world’s outrage at the burning of the Quran in Western capitals, but what happened in Gaza was far worse. No condemnation, no outrage. Thousands of violations against Islam occurred, and the Islamic world stood still. Perhaps those who disregard the blood of their brothers will also disregard their religion.”

Great Celebration

Scenes of the desecration and destruction of mosques and Islamic sanctities are met with great celebration within the Israeli Occupation, where they are seen as fulfilling “Jewish teachings and divine commandments.”

Hebrew-language pages on social media are flooded with videos of soldiers celebrating the bombing of mosques, with significant interaction and celebratory responses from the Zionist public.

On October 25, 2024, strategic consultant Igal Malka shared a post on X celebrating the Israeli army’s destruction of al-Farouq Mosque in Khan Yunis on the same day.

He cited verses from the Book of Exodus in the Torah: “Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim.”

“We are striving, through our air forces, to fulfill the divine commandment in Khan Yunis,” Malka said.

Settler activist Leisha Yard, on November 2, 2023, described the broadcasting of a voice message from Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, in mosques in the West Bank, as “full partnership in the war,” urging the immediate bombing of those mosques.