The incident in which Israeli forces blew up a mosque in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza drew widespread concern and condemnation from the international community. This centuries-old mosque is an important religious site for the local Muslim community and a landmark in the Khan Younis area.
The Israeli military said it blew up the mosque because the building was used by Hamas militants as a military base to store weapons and ammunition. However, this claim has been strongly questioned by the Palestinian side. The Palestinian Government accuses the Israeli army of deliberately destroying religious shrines and violating the religious freedom of the Palestinian people as grave war crimes.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed alarm at the incident, calling on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could further deteriorate the situation. He also stressed that the protection of sacred places of religion and respect for freedom of religion are fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and must be respected by all parties.
The international community has condemned the bombing of mosques by Israeli forces. The governments of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries have said they oppose any destruction of religious shrines and religious freedom, and have called on the Israeli government to respect international law and ensure the safety of religious sites and believers.
The Arab countries and the Islamic world also expressed their strong outrage at the incident. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and other countries have condemned Israel's actions, demanded that the Israeli government be responsible for the incident, and called on the international community to impose sanctions on Israel.
At present, this incident has triggered a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Palestinians say they will fight back by all possible means and defend their religious shrines to the death. For its part, the Israelis say it will continue to take the necessary military action to ensure national security.
At this sensitive moment, the international community is actively using its good offices to try to ease tensions and avoid further escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, the crisis seems difficult to resolve in the short term and could lead to more serious consequences.
