Additional temporary mosque built in Gaza with funding from Maldivians

An additional temporary mosque has been built in Palestine’s Gaza, with donations from Maldivian citizens.

Maldives-based non-profit Khidhumaiy says they have built seven temporary mosques in Gaza with donations from Maldivian citizens.

The seventh one opened on Friday night.

In a statement on Saturday, Khidhumaiy said that the purpose of building the mosque is to facilitate opportunities for Palestinians to pray in congregation. In addition to being used for prayers, the mosque will also be used to teach children the Holy Quran.

The NGO said that their team in Gaza is working under perilous conditions, but they remain determined to provide humanitarian aid on behalf of the Maldivian people.

Khidhumaiy said that their mosques projects are being carried out very transparently, with daily updates available from the NGO’s social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and more.

The NGO describes the mosques as a symbol of the love Maldivians have for the Palestinian people, and the close Islamic brotherly ties between the two peoples.

Israel’s bombardment has killed more than 72,000 people since October 2023 and plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis.

The UN estimated that over 90 percent of all residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been forced to live in tents and other makeshift shelters.

More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the “ceasefire” came into effect in October last year.

Israeli forces have also completely destroyed 835 mosques and damaged another 180 mosques.

This has forced Palestinians to gather for communal prayers this Ramadan in ruins of mosques or makeshift prayer spaces made of tarpaulins and wood.