PALESTINIANS performed the first Tarawih prayers of the holy month of Ramadan in the war-devastated Gaza Strip on Friday night, amid the ruins of mosques across the enclave.
According to Anadolu Agency today, Palestinians laid out carpets and mats next to the ruins of destroyed mosques to perform Tarawih.
The special night prayers performed during the Muslim holy month were also held in the Great Omari Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in Gaza. The minaret of the 1,400-year-old mosque was destroyed, and parts of the structure were severely damaged by the Israeli army in its genocidal war.
"Today, we witness the first Tarawih prayers among the ruins of mosques. Next to the rubble, we perform our great rituals, praying to God to accept our deeds," Bilal Al-Lahham, an imam, or faith leader, in Gaza City, told Anadolu.
Ramadan greets Gazans this year amid an unprecedented scale of destruction across the enclave, including the displacement of nearly 1.5 million residents, out of a population of 2.3 million in Gaza, as their homes were destroyed and severely damaged by the Israeli army.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Gaza said last week that out of 1,244 mosques across Gaza, 1,109 mosques were completely or severely damaged by the army.
A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place since last month, temporarily halting Israel's genocidal war, which has left Gaza in ruins and claimed the lives of over 48,360 victims, mostly women and children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its military actions in the enclave.
