Name: Gazans return to Friday prayers in damaged mosques
Uploaded: 2025-12-27T09:50:58.380Z
Duration: 2 min 4 s
Description: Palestinians in Gaza have begun returning to Friday prayers in mosques damaged or destroyed by Israeli strikes.

Palestinians in Gaza have begun returning to Friday prayers in mosques damaged or destroyed by Israeli strikes.

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Worshippers in Gaza City have returned to the Al-Omari Mosque, one of the region's oldest and most significant religious sites, to hold Friday prayers for the first time in months. The mosque, which has sustained extensive damage from Israeli bombardment, saw congregants gather in a temporary prayer hall amid visible destruction and ongoing risks of collapse.

Many attendees were returning after prolonged displacement, viewing their participation as an act of resilience and determination. The prayers were marked by both grief and remembrance, with individuals recalling family members lost in the conflict, as the call to prayer once again echoed through the city.

Gazans return to Friday prayers in damaged mosques

An exciting and emotional moment for everyone here, holding prayer for the first time in one of Gaza's oldest and most historic landmarks, Al-Omari Mosque. I'm in old Gaza City and I'm walking toward Al-Omari Mosque where worshippers started together to perform what has been described as the first prayer congregation in months. Al-Omari Mosque is one of the oldest and most important landmarks in Gaza, a site that has stood for centuries. In recent months, it has been hit hard by relentless Israeli bombardment, sustaining extensive damage. I'm walking inside the parts that are left of Al-Omari Mosque here and it's quite dangerous as many of these areas are at risk of collapsing. The damage and the destruction is quite significant here and visible everywhere, not to the structure itself but to a place that holds religious and cultural and historical significance. But despite the damage, people gather here today to pray, many returning for the first time since they were forced into displacement. We're inside this room that has been prepared for worshippers here. It's a large temporary prayer hall and for those attending, the prayer itself is not just a religious act, it's an act of resilience, an act of determination for people forced into displacement for two years, deprived from worshipping and praying in this place. I got goosebumps when I remembered my martyred sons, Abdullah, Jamal al-Nabi, and Noor al-Iman, as well as their mother and sister. All of them were killed in the war. They were an integral part of this mosque. So as the prayers conclude and worshippers have started to leave, the call to prayer once again starts to echo through Gaza, carrying with it both grief and determination. Hani Mahmoud al-Jazeera from Gaza City, Palestine.

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Gazans return to Friday prayers in damaged mosques

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