Umm al-Nasr Mosque

Umm al-Nasr Mosque (مسجد أم النصر) or Beit Hanoun Mosque is the oldest mosque in the Palestinian city of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, located in the center of the city.

History
The Umm al-Nasr Mosque was built 1239 by the Ayyubids to commemorate their soldiers who had died in the battle on the mosque site between them and the Crusaders. The Ayyubids were victorious, hence the name Umm al-Nasr ("Mother of Victories"). The inscription on the wall above the mosque entrance attributes the construction to Ayyubid sultan al-Adil II.

The battle that is commemorated was not a major one, but in the history of later Crusades it was significant. Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi mentions that the battle occurred on November 13, 1239 and ended in an Egyptian (Ayyubid) victory. Crusader reports confirm al-Maqrizi's claim that Henry the Count of Bar, together with 1,000 of his men, were killed in the hostilities. Further recorded is that 600 were taken prisoner, with most killed by their captors on the way to Egypt.

On November 3, 2006, Palestinian militants holed up inside the mosque exchanged gunfire with Israeli forces. This was part of the larger 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict. The mosque was heavily damaged by the fighting. Many local women marched to protect the mosque and help the Palestinian militants escape, but were shot at by Israeli forces. This resulted in the deaths of two of the women and several of the militants. The damage to the mosque was condemned by the United Nations.

Israeli destruction of the mosque
During the Israel Hamas war, Israel launched an intense bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip which has left many of the mosques in the Gaza Strip destroyed. Israeli claims of Hamas being located inside the mosque have not been supported with evidence, nor has any investigation deduced that the mosque was being used by the Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip. This has led to widespread accusations of Israel intentionally destroying the cultural heritage of Palestine.

Architecture
The original mosque consisted of one large room, with a simple dome, built from crude and worn-out stones. Nothing is left of the original mosque apart from the southern portico with its roof—which consists of fan vaults and shallow dome in the center. The prayer hall ends with a room to the east roofed with a dome supported on spherical triangles. The foundation plate is inscribed in Ayyubid nashki script.