Tue 4-February-2025

The first Friday after the ceasefire: Victory and resilience prayers in the Gaza Strip

Saturday 25-January-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

Despite the Israeli occupation army’s efforts to destroy mosques in the Gaza Strip during the aggression that lasted for fifteen months, and despite the complete or partial destruction of nearly a thousand mosques, the people of Gaza insisted on celebrating in their own way the first Friday after the anticipated ceasefire agreement by performing the Friday prayer on the rubble of buildings and mosques, as a symbol of resilience and celebration of victory and the enemy’s failure to achieve the war’s objectives.

Hundreds of Palestinian worshippers gathered to perform the Friday prayer in a scene that had rarely occurred over the 15 months of the genocide initiated by the Israeli occupation since October 7, 2023.

This time, the Palestinians held their first Friday prayer in an atmosphere of tranquillity, with the sounds of prayers and Quran recitation replacing the noise of planes and explosions. This scene was repeated in various areas of the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians prayed on the ruins of destroyed mosques and homes.

In the ancient Al-Omari Mosque, following the Friday prayer held on its ruins, mourners buried the bodies of Hamas political bureau member Rouhi Mushtaha and the head of the movement’s General Security Service, Sami Ouda.

The funeral procession featured members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Movement, in a scene that has been repeated several times since the ceasefire agreement came into effect. Observers see this as part of the Movement’s messages to Israel, indicating “this is the image of the day after in Gaza, which shows Hamas’s control.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs documented that the occupation destroyed 966 mosques in the Gaza Strip, either completely or partially, during the past year, amid the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in the besieged territory.

In a report published at the beginning of this month, the ministry indicated that since the start of 2024, the Israeli occupation has completely destroyed about 815 mosques, partially destroyed 151 mosques, completely destroyed 19 cemeteries, and three churches.

On January 19, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began, lasting for its first phase for 42 days, during which negotiations for the start of a second and then a third phase will take place, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

With American support, Israel launched its war of genocide against the people of Gaza on October 7, 2023, resulting in more than 158,000 casualties, mostly children and women, and over 14,000 missing persons, with search and recovery operations still ongoing, marking one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

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