Ramadan begins in Gaza amid ruins of shattered mosques

GAZA: ​As the Muslim fasting month ​of Ramadan began in Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinians headed to the shattered ruins of mosques or to makeshift prayer spaces made of tarpaulins and wood, mourning their dead and their lost places of worship. In Gaza City, the dome of the now destroyed Al Hassaina mosque rests on top of a pile of rubble. Its former courtyard, where worshippers once gathered and today ⁠families sleep and cook among the ruins, is criss-crossed with washing lines.
'I can't bear to look ⁠at it,' said Sami Al Hissi, 61, a volunteer at the mosque in Gaza City, standing on rubble where rows of worshippers once stood shoulder to shoulder in prayer. 'We used to pray comfortably. We used to see our friends, our loved ones. Now there are no loved ​ones, no friends, and ⁠no mosque,' he said.
Children clamber over the cracked domes and women collect laundry hung ​between broken columns. Al Hissi said the mosque had drawn worshippers from other neighbourhoods including Shejaia and Daraj during Ramadan. 'It would be filled with thousands,' he said. 'But now, where are they supposed ​to pray? It's all rubble and destruction. There's barely enough space for a hundred people.'
Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after a cross-border attack on October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault has killed 72,000 Palestinians, health authorities say. The Gaza government media office says Israeli forces have completely destroyed 835 mosques and partially damaged 180. It added Israel has targeted churches ​in attacks on multiple occasions, and destroyed 40 of Gaza's 60 cemeteries. Israel says it targets ​infrastructure and ‌accuses Palestinian ⁠armed groups of operating in civilian areas, including mosques, an allegation Hamas denies.
For many residents, the loss is both spiritual and communal. 'We wished we could welcome Ramadan in a different atmosphere,' ​said Khitam Jabr, displaced and now staying at the mosque. 'We don't have ⁠enough mosques. All ​of the mosques were destroyed and there's nowhere to pray. Now we pray in tents, and the mosques became centres for the displaced,' she added.
Despite the devastation and severe shortages of materials, people are attempting to rebuild small sections of mosques and set up makeshift prayer spaces using reused plastic sheeting ​and wood, said Amir Abu Al Amrain, director of the religious affairs ministry in Gaza City. 'Four ​hundred and thirty prayer areas have been rebuilt, some using plastic sheets from greenhouses, some made of wood, and some constructed with plastic sheets from tents,' he said.
Meanwhile, The European ​Union is exploring possible ​support for a new committee established to take over the civil administration of Gaza, according to a document produced by the bloc's diplomatic arm. 'The EU ⁠is engaging with the newly established transitional governance ⁠structures for Gaza,' the European External Action Service wrote in a document circulated to member states on Tuesday. 'The EU is also exploring possible support ​to the ⁠National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,' ​it added.
European foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza during a meeting in Brussels ​on February 23. Most European governments have chosen not to join the US-led Board of Peace, but a member of the European Commission is scheduled to travel to ‌Washington for a meeting of the Board on ​Thursday. 'The decision not to join the Board of ​Peace (BoP) as ⁠a member does not impact our continued commitment to the success of the Peace Plan,' the ​EU document said.