Taraweeh prayers held on ruins of Gaza’s mosques for Ramadan’s first night
Muslim worshippers perform evening Tarawih prayer on the first night of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israel’s war on Gaza, Gaza City, 18 February 2026
Al-Araby al-Jadeed reports in The New Arab on 18 February 2026:
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip performed the first Taraweeh prayers of Ramadan amid the rubble of destroyed mosques and inside makeshift tents, amid the widespread destruction left by more than two years of an Israeli genocide.
The prayers coincided with Palestinian worshippers performing Taraweeh at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, after the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Muhammad Hussein, announced that Wednesday, 18 February, would mark the first day of Ramadan.
Amid dire humanitarian conditions and extensive destruction, the holy month arrived for Gaza’s battered residents following the recent Israeli war, with numerous violations reported since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025.
Today’s Ramadan will be the first to pass in Gaza after a pause in Israel’s extermination campaign, following two years of war, acute hunger, and a severe humanitarian crisis, which prompted the United Nations to declare famine in Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip. Many residents were unable to secure sufficient food for iftar or suhoor.
Among the rubble of Gaza’s mosques, Palestinians erected prayer sites in tents made of nylon and wood after Israel targeted more than 1,015 mosques throughout the past two years.
The prayers took place while Israeli reconnaissance aircraft flew overhead, disturbing the calm. Worshippers nonetheless directed prayers and supplications to God for “relief from suffering, an end to hardship, and improved conditions for residents of the Strip,” according to Anadolu Agency.
Government media in Gaza reported that during the two years of extermination, Israel destroyed more than 835 mosques and partially damaged over 180 others.
Since the ceasefire, the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and residents have erected nylon-and-wood tents atop the destroyed mosques, transforming them into prayer spaces.
Return to Al-Omari Grand Mosque
At the Al-Omari Grand Mosque in Gaza City, targeted by Israeli forces during the campaign, Palestinians performed Taraweeh after covering damaged sections with pieces of nylon and wood.