"Allah-o- Akbar (God is the Greatest)" resonated across war-ravaged Gabalyia refugee camp in southern Gaza and worshippers instantly started to flock from all directions.
But instead of the performing the Tarawih prayers, a special nightly prayers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, inside their tranquil oasis mosque, Gazans gathered to pray in their new makeshift place of worship built with plastic walls and palm leaves ceilings.
"We have rebuilt our mosques from plastic and nylon to keep them populated with worshippers," Mohamed Badr, a Gazan youth, said.
Gazans welcomed Ramadan on the ruins of their mosques, destroyed by Israel’s gun machines in the December offensive.
But ahead of the holy month, when Muslims dedicate their time to become closer to Allah through prayer, young Gazans like Badr worked hard to create makeshift places of worship to receive the worshipers.
With no Israel’s stifling blockade which denies Gaza basic materials to rebuild ruined houses and mosques, volunteers had nothing but plastic, woods and palm leaves.
"Our mosques are not a mere building of walls and columns. The whole earth is a place of worship," Bilal, a friend of Badr, stressed, while the two engaged themselves in cleaning and making simple decorations in the plastic mosque, an easy task with no light to fix or luxurious carpets to set.
"If building materials are late, we still have plastic and palm leaves."
At least 1,417 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, were killed in the Israeli air, land and sea attacks.
The three-week war wrecked havoc on the Gaza infrastructure, destroying some 100 mosques, 20,000 homes, 48 government offices and 31 police stations across the impoverished territory.
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