{"id":1078,"date":"2026-02-18T08:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1newsnetwork.com\/?p=1078"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:46:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:46:31","slug":"beneath-shattered-minarets-gaza-holds-its-first-tarawih-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/beneath-shattered-minarets-gaza-holds-its-first-tarawih-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Beneath shattered minarets, Gaza holds its first Tarawih prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Worshippers gather in nylon tents and shattered mosques destroyed during Israel&#8217;s genocidal war <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<p>By Ramzi Mahmud and Hosni Nedim<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As dusk settled over Gaza on Tuesday, rows of worshippers stood in prayer not inside mosques, but atop their ruins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the first time since Israel\u2019s two-year war on the enclave ended, Palestinians marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan under a fragile ceasefire, performing Tarawih prayers in courtyards strewn with debris and in makeshift prayer spaces fashioned from nylon sheets and wooden planks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many mosques across the enclave no longer exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"PALESTINIANS HOLD FIRST TARAWIH PRAYER\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M_LUlMG9tHA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Gaza\u2019s Government Media Office, more than 1 015 mosques were destroyed or damaged during the war. At least 835 were completely levelled, while dozens of others remain partially standing as hollowed shells of what were once central gathering points for their neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In place of domes and minarets, plastic tarps now hang. In place of marble floors, worshippers kneel on uneven concrete and sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israeli surveillance drones continued to circle overhead in parts of the enclave as prayers began, an Anadolu correspondent reported, underscoring the fragile calm that has followed months of bombardment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Gaza City\u2019s Old Quarter, residents returned to the historic Al-Omari Mosque, one of the largest and oldest in Palestine. First established more than 14 centuries ago, the mosque sustained near-total destruction in a bombardment documented in December 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sections of the structure have since been covered with temporary materials to allow limited access for worshippers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the extensive damage, hundreds gathered there for the evening prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEven after everything, people prefer to pray here,\u201d said Muawiya Kashko, a worshipper from the Zeitoun neighbourhood. \u201cDuring the war, we were dying every day. But this is still our mosque.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another worshipper, Abu Abdullah Khalaf, said returning to the site carried deep symbolic meaning. \u201cWe stand here despite the destruction,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want relief. We want stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Gaza, similar scenes unfolded. Prayer tents erected over rubble filled quickly. Some were illuminated briefly by small generators operating for limited hours. Others relied on faint light filtering through torn fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Rami Al-Jarousha, imam of the heavily damaged Al-Amin Mohammed Mosque in western Gaza City, said Ramadan feels markedly different this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis Ramadan carries a different tone,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are exhausted, from war, from loss, from displacement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the determination to maintain prayer remains firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe will pray anywhere,\u201d he added. \u201cEven if it is over the ruins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignleft is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Palestinians in Gaza gathered on Wednesday for suhoor, the predawn meal that marks the start of fasting during Ramadan. <br><br>The gathering took place amidst makeshift tents of displaced Palestinians <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pVPZyRl3GN\">pic.twitter.com\/pVPZyRl3GN<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MiddleEastEye\/status\/2024013550239535290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 18, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For 65-year-old Ramiz Al-Mashharawi, the month arrives with profound absence. He lost his two sons and a grandson months ago, companions who once stood beside him in prayer during Ramadan nights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis year, I feel alone,\u201d he said quietly. Still, he attends nightly prayers at a temporary site built over the remains of Al-Kanz Mosque in the Rimal district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem announced that Wednesday would mark the first day of Ramadan, many in Gaza described the moment as one of diminished joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The previous two Ramadans unfolded under bombardment and acute hunger, with families often unable to prepare even basic meals for iftar \u2013 the traditional fast-breaking meal \u2013 or suhoor \u2013 the pre-dawn meal before the daylight fast begins during the holy month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, while large-scale fighting has subsided, displacement remains widespread and reconstruction uncertain. Electricity is still largely cut off, and thousands of families continue to live in tents pitched amid rubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, as worshippers lined up between broken walls and temporary tarps, the act of prayer itself carried quiet defiance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many in Gaza, this Ramadan does not mark a return to normalcy. While large-scale fighting has subsided, displacement, destruction, and uncertainty persist, leaving residents to navigate the holy month amid profound loss and fragile hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A US-backed ceasefire agreement has been in place in Gaza since October 10, 2025, halting Israel\u2019s two-year war that has killed more than 72 000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171 000 others since October 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the agreement took effect on October 10, Israeli forces have committed hundreds of violations through shelling and gunfire, killing 603 Palestinians and injuring 1 618 others, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry. \u2013 Anadulo Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><em>Worshippers gather in nylon tents and shattered mosques destroyed during Israel&#8217;s genocidal war<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[14,15,16,19,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-1078","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conflict-zones","8":"tag-gaza","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-palestine","11":"tag-war-crimes","12":"tag-zionist"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1078"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1082,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions\/1082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}