Reduced to rubble - the Al Sousy mosque in the Shati refugee camp

(12 Aug 2014) LEADIN: The toppled minaret of the Al Sousy mosque in Gaza City has become a symbol of the month-long conflict. Local residents say they lost everything when the Israeli airstrike hit the mosque - but many still come daily to pray amid the rubble. STORYLINE: The Al Sousy mosque lies in ruins almost two weeks after an Israeli airstrike toppled its minaret. A symbol of the Shati refugee camp - and its most important shrine - has been reduced to rubble. The 30-metre-high (98 feet) minaret now lies at an angle across the road, its tip hanging out of a third-storey window. It has become one of the most iconic images of the month-long conflict, illustrating the widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army claims the mosque was being used as a Hamas meeting point in Gaza City - and was therefore a legitimate target for a bombing campaign. Six airstrikes hit the mosque during the early hours of July 30. But the local residents, their apartments and buildings nearby are among the collateral damage. Ramiz Radwan used to live just in front of the mosque. Now he says he has lost everything. "I would have never imagined that one day, after 30 years, I would have found my building destroyed like this," Radwan says as he examines the damage. He says the Israeli army warned locals that they were about to target the mosque - giving them just minutes to get out and run for shelter. "Before the shelling, about seven minutes before, a call from the Israeli army to one of our neighbours informed him that they would shell the mosque," Radwan says. "Between the shelling and us leaving the house there were only seven minutes," he adds. "After seven minutes they shelled the mosque and, as you see, the minaret is over my building. At first it destroyed the fourth floor, then it came down to the third floor, and then down to the second and the first floors." For many residents of the Shati refugee camp, the mosque has become a symbol of resistance against Israel. And worshippers still come daily to pray amid the rubble. One of them is Adnan Ibrahim, who has lived in the camp for years. He describes the night the mosque was hit. "We were in our houses sleeping and you can just see that the house is destroyed over the heads of the owners," he says. "For example, this mosque, can you see how many neighbouring houses were damaged while people where sleeping inside? Can you see the minaret, how it went inside this house and crushed it?" But he is defiant and hopes the mosque can be rebuilt. "Even if they're shelling all the mosques, the building doesn't mean anything for us but our hearts are building the mosque," he says. "We would pray even if it were a tent, it wouldn't stop us praying. It is not a question of a building, we would pray even under a tent." According to Palestininan officials, at least 63 mosques in Gaza have been destroyed since the start of the latest conflict. Palestinian officials also say that at least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed - around three-quarters of them civilians, according to the United Nations. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...