Israeli soldiers destroy historic mosque, burn pages of the Holy Quran in Gaza

Israeli soldiers destroyed Masjid Al Kabir, one of the oldest mosques in Gaza, built in 1928, in their latest attacks. Occupation forces were filmed burning and tearing pages of the Holy Quran at another mosque.

The video of the incident surfaced on Saturday after media outlets released footage filmed by cameras attached to Israeli soldiers, showing them desecrating the holy scripture of Muslims at Bani Saleh mosque in northern Gaza.

Palestinian rights group Hamas vehemently responded to the incident in a statement on Saturday, demanding that Muslim countries and organisations condemn the act.

“The burning of copies of the Quran and the desecration and destruction of mosques confirm the extremist nature of this entity, its hate-filled criminal soldiers, and their fascist behavior against anything related to the identity and sanctities of our nation,” the statement read.

Israel has destroyed 106 mosques and three churches in Gaza since its military onslaught began on October 7, according to Gaza's government media office.

This latest incident is not an isolated one, as Israeli forces have been filmed vandalising abandoned mosques, turning them into military sites, and desecrating the Holy Quran.

Despite the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to cease military operations in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has intensified its attacks on the enclave while simultaneously imposing an aid blockade on the starving Palestinians.

The overall Palestinian death toll since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza has reached at least 40,200, with 92,401 wounded. Thousands more remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Palestinians are grappling with gruesome violence even during displacement as Israel continues to issue evacuation orders for almost all parts of Gaza.

Recent talks held in Cairo on Sunday, facilitated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, ended without progress toward ending the ten-month military offensive in Gaza, according to Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on not withdrawing forces from Gaza and continuing the military offensive, while Hamas demands a complete end to the attacks.