Oldest mosque in Gaza reduced to ruins following Israeli attack

As she passed the heavily ornate entrance to Pasha's Palace in 2019, a Palestinian schoolgirl from Gaza City glanced at the towering minaret of the Omari Mosque in the background. Meanwhile, within the mosque's reflective sanctuary, Palestinians devotedly spent their day of Ramadan fasting, immersing themselves in the holy Quran. Walls imbued with centuries of change and tradition now echoed a somber silence. The once bustling Omari Mosque, a symbol of Gaza's rich, intertwined religious history, lay in ruins. Its disarray raises a myriad of questions. What forces have conspired to reduce this symbol of peaceful worship to rubble?