Gaza City: Nearly 1,000 mosques were damaged in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip last year, Palestinian authorities said on Sunday. In a statement, the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs detailed that 815 Muslim worship places were entirely destroyed, while 151 others sustained partial damage.

According to Anadolu Agency, the ministry also reported the destruction of 19 cemeteries and three churches during what they described as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in 2024. In addition to the devastation in Gaza, the ministry highlighted ongoing issues in the occupied West Bank, noting 256 settler intrusions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem over the past year.

The data revealed that 2,567 settlers entered the mosque complex to mark the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which occurred from December 25 to January 2. The ministry further detailed that Israeli attacks targeted 20 mosques in the occupied West Bank.

Tension across the occupied Palestinian territories has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict, with the war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in over 45,800 deaths, predominantly affecting women and children. In a significant legal development, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is also confronting a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, stemming from its military actions in the Gaza Strip.