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Al-Shamah Mosque

12th-century mosques in AsiaAsian mosque stubsBahri dynastyBuildings and structures completed in 1315Mamluk mosques in Palestine
Middle Eastern building and structure stubsMosques in Gaza CityPalestine stubsZaytun Quarter

Al-Sham'ah Mosque or Bab ad-Darum Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الشمعة) is a historic mosque located in Hayy al-Najjarin (the Carpenters' Neighborhood) of the al-Zaytun Quarter in Gaza's Old City, Palestine. Its name Sham'ah translates as "Candle," although the origin of the name is unknown. The mosque does not have a minaret. It was built on 8 March 1315 by the Mamluk Governor of Gaza, Sanjar al-Jawli. The inscription on the mosque which states its endowment by al-Jawli and the reigning Mamluk sultan at the time, al-Nasir Muhammad, originally belonged to a mosque al-Jawli built previously. That mosque was destroyed in 1799, during Napoleon's invasion of Gaza. Its stones were then used for other edifices in Gaza while its inscription was attached to the al-Sham'ah Mosque. Since its construction in the 14th-century, al-Sham'ah Mosque has gone through numerous repairs and restorations. In 1355 it was visited by Ibn Batutah who made the following note: "Gaza had a beautiful Friday mosque (Great Mosque of Gaza), but these days Friday service is conducted in the mosque built by the amir al-Jawli. It is an elegant building, strongly constructed and its pulpit is from white marble." 15th-century Islamic scholar al-Sakhawi mentions that Khatib Yusuf al-Ghazzi was the imam of the mosque in 1440–41.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Al-Shamah Mosque (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Al-Shamah Mosque
Al-Awameed, Gaza Gaza Old City

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N 31.5018 ° E 34.4619 °
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مسجد الشمعة

Al-Awameed
888 Gaza, Gaza Old City
Palestinian Territory
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Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion

On 17 October 2023, an explosion took place in the parking lot of the courtyard of al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City during the Israel–Hamas war, resulting in a large number of fatalities and injuries among displaced Palestinians seeking shelter there. Reports of the number of fatalities vary widely. The Gaza Health Ministry reported 342 injured and 471 killed. The Anglican diocese that manages the hospital reported 200 people killed. US intelligence agencies assessed a death toll between 100 and 300. A report by Human Rights Watch also questioned the Health Ministry's casualty figures. The cause of the explosion is contested. Israel, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada said that their intelligence sources indicate the cause of the explosion was a failed rocket launch from within Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Hamas and PIJ stated the explosion was caused by an Israeli airstrike. The consensus from various independent studies of videos, images, and eyewitness reports of the explosion, its aftermath, and the blast area suggests that an errant rocket launch from within Gaza is the most probable cause. While this is not a conclusive finding, it is currently considered the likeliest explanation based on the evidence gathered in investigations conducted by the Associated Press, CNN, The Economist, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. Human Rights Watch stated that the available evidence made an Israeli airstrike "highly unlikely".