RAMALLAH, January 5, 2025 (WAFA) — The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs issued a special report today detailing the ongoing Israeli violations against Islamic and Christian religious sites in the West Bank and Gaza Strip throughout 2024. 

According to the Ministry, during the year 2024, the Israeli occupation completely destroyed 815 mosques and partially damaged an additional 151. In addition, 19 cemeteries were completely obliterated, with graves desecrated, and bodies exhumed. 

The report also notes that three churches in Gaza City were targeted and destroyed during the ongoing Israeli aggression.

The Ministry further condemned the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, stating that Israeli authorities allowed extremist settler groups to storm and defile the mosque compound. 

The report mentions 256 incidents of settler incursions into the holy site, during which religious practices were carried out in defiance of the sanctity of the site, including the controversial actions of far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. 

On one occasion, during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, 2,567 settlers entered the mosque grounds, engaging in rituals such as dancing, singing, and performative prostration.

M.N