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

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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

Saturday 25-January-2025 -
https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/01/25/332856/
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/01/25/332856/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/01/25/332856/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/01/25/332856/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/01/25/332856/#>
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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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