GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Saturday condemned Israeli soldiers' burning of copies of the Muslim holy book Quran and the destruction of mosques in the Gaza Strip, calling it “fascist behavior filled with hatred and criminality.”

"We strongly condemn the actions of Zionist soldiers burning copies of the Quran during their raid and desecration of the Bani Saleh Mosque in northern Gaza,” the group said in a statement on Telegram.

They added: "The burning of the Quran, the desecration, targeting, and destruction of mosques confirms the extremist nature of this entity and its soldiers, who are filled with hatred and criminality, and their fascist behavior towards everything related to the identity and sanctities of the nation."

Hamas called on Arab and Islamic nations and governments to “express their anger and condemnation of the Zionist behavior, and to act to defend the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Palestine and to stop the genocide against our people.”

On Sunday, Qatari channel Al Jazeera released images showing Israeli soldiers storming the Bani Saleh Mosque in northern Gaza and burning all the copies of the Quran inside.

According to the channel, the images also show the destruction of the Grand Mosque in Khan Younis, one of the oldest mosques in Gaza.

Al Jazeera said the footage was obtained from cameras of Israeli soldiers and from drones.

During the Israeli offensive on Gaza, Israel has destroyed 610 mosques completely and 214 partially, and also destroyed three churches, according to the Gaza media office.

Destroying or desecrating a Quran is a grave offense under Islam and an insult to the faith of some 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide.

Since Israel began its campaign against Gaza 10 months ago, dozens of countries and international humanitarian groups have decried its bombing of hospitals, civilian housing, and houses of worship – all places off limits to attacks under the rules of war.

Israel has continued its offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,300 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

​​​​​​​Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala