Mosque, last Turkish hammam and oldest church in Gaza: Hamas-Israel war has leveled or destroyed countless historic buildings in Gaza Strip, with Hamas calling on UNESCO to act.

Videos and photos posted on social media today show the ruins of the historic Al Omari Mosque, of the largest and oldest in Gaza City, of which only the minaret appears intact. The rest of this 12th century holy place, which was formerly a church, is cracked, fallen white stone walls. Hamas said today that Israel bombed this medieval mosque in what it called a “heinous, barbaric crime”. Journalists from Reuters and Al Jazzera identified the photos as being of the mosque.

The Ministry of Antiquities of the Hamas government denounced “Msdestruction of historical and archaeological sites” from the Israeli army, which has been relentlessly shelling the enclave since October 7 when the war broke out after the massacre of Hamas in southern Israel.

“The crime of targeting and destroying archaeological sites should prompt the world and UNESCO to act to preserve this great cultural and cultural heritage,” said the ministry, which said 104 mosques have been leveled since the beginning. war’s.

Among them, the al-Omari mosque as well as the Othman bin Kaskar mosque, also located in Gaza City, were bombed by Israeli airstrikes yesterday and today, according to the Hamas government.

The ministry also deplores the destruction of Hamam al Samara, the last Turkish bath on the territory of the Palestinian enclave, where Gazans have been getting water for over 1,000 years.

Finally, three churches were destroyed, again according to Hamas, including the thousand-year-old Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyry, the oldest still functioning in the area, located in the heart of the historic quarter of Gaza’s Old City. The church was bombed on October 18.

The architectural heritage of the Gaza Strip had already taken a hit during previous wars between Israel and Hamas. The Palestinian Islamist movement took power in the region in 2007.