Hamas says Israel destroyed historic Omari mosque in Gaza

Cairo: Hamas said on Friday that Israel had bombed Gaza's medieval Omari Mosque causing widespread destruction to the building and calling it a "heinous, barbaric crime".

Photographs carried by Hamas-run media in Gaza that Reuters could not immediately verify showed massive damage to the mosque, with fallen walls and roofs and a huge crack at the bottom of the stone minaret.

Reuters journalists from Gaza identified the minaret in the picture as being that of the Omari Mosque.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the damage to the mosque.

The Omari mosque, named after Islam's second caliph Omar, is the oldest and biggest in the tiny Palestinian enclave, which has been under Israeli bombardment since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack that Israel says killed 1,200 people.

Israel's assault has killed more than 17,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory, and has laid waste to entire city districts including much civilian infrastructure.