Talha Ozturk
28 October 2023•Update: 28 October 2023
BELGRADE, Serbia
A mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital urged Muslims to attend a night prayer for Palestinians after Israel intensified attacks on Gaza.
The imam of Emperor's Mosque in Sarajevo, Sadrudin Iseric, said they would hold the prayer for the people in Gaza.
"Spread the word and invite others for night prayer," Iseric said on Facebook.
Hundreds shared the post, while many others commented to say they would attend or pray from home for Palestinians.
According to sources in the Palestinian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, there was a sudden halt in services from the Gaza Strip for as yet unknown reasons.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Friday it had "completely" lost contact with the operations room in the Gaza Strip and with all crew members working there.
It expressed deep concern about "providing ambulances with services in the Gaza Strip, especially since the outage affects the central communications services and impedes the arrival of ambulances to the injured."
The conflict in Gaza began Oct. 7 when the Palestinian group, Hamas, initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.
Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
The Israeli military then launched a relentless bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been running out of food, water, medicine, and fuel, and aid convoys recently allowed into Gaza have carried only a fraction of what is needed.
Nearly 8,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 7,326 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis. Some 70% of the deaths in Gaza are women and children, according to official figures.
