IDF soldiers reportedly pray in ancient Gaza synagogue amid ongoing Israel - Hamas war

IDF soldiers reportedly prayed at a 6th-century synagogue in Gaza for the first time in decades, when Israel unilaterally withdrew some 8,000 residents and Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Michael Freund, founder of the non-profit organization Shavei Israel, articulated his excitement over the fact that Jews had returned to Gaza.

"For the first time in decades, Israeli soldiers prayed in the ancient synagogue in Gaza, which was built in the 6th century and where a beautiful mosaic floor depicting King David was unearthed years ago. Jews have returned to Gaza!!" Freund tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.

Wow! For the first time in decades, #Israeli soldiers prayed in the ancient synagogue in #Gaza which was built in the 6th century and where a beautiful mosaic floor depicting King David was unearthed years ago. #Jews have returned to Gaza!!#Israel #Hamas pic.twitter.com/H9huNA7FVM

— Michael Freund (@msfreund) November 7, 2023

The ancient Gaza synagogue was built during the Byzantine era and erected around 508 C.E., according to reports. It was first discovered in 1965 when the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian rule.

The synagogue ruins are located in an area called “Maiuma” or El Mineh, or the harbor, located in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood. At the time, Egyptian archaeologists initially believed they had unearthed an ancient church, however, they later discovered an ancient mosaic with King David playing a lyre with Hebrew inscriptions.

There has been a small but continuous Jewish presence in Gaza since antiquity.

However, in 1929, British forces evacuated the remaining Gazan Jews amid Muslim Arab anti-Jewish pogroms.

In 1947, the United Nations adopted a partition plan of the British Palestine Mandate that allotted the Gaza district to a new Arab state alongside the Jewish state. However, the Arab state was never established, and Egyptian forces captured the Gaza area during the Arab-Israeli War in 1948.

After Israel's military victory in the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip alongside the Judea and Samaria – internationally recognized as the West Bank, Jerusalem’s Old City, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli authorities transferred the ancient Gaza synagogue mosaic to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for restoration.

Today the mosaic synagogue floor can be seen in the Museum of the Good Samaritan, located close to the Israeli city of Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem and adjacent to Jerusalem–Jericho road.

The vast majority of Gaza’s current 2.3 million residents are Muslim Arabs. While Jews no longer live in Gaza, a tiny Christian community is living proof of Gaza’s diverse ancient history.

 In January 2022, an ancient church from the Byzantine era was accidentally unearthed during road construction work close to Jabalya, a city in the northern Gaza Strip where Israeli forces are currently fighting against Hamas terrorists.

“Today, the 1500-year-old Byzantine church was opened; it dates back to the time of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II in 444AD. The most important parts of the Byzantine church is the mosaics that contain animal, plant, and geometric. It is one of the oldest churches in Gaza City, and it contains more than 16 founding texts, in the ancient Latin language,” stated Nariman Khella of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

“The church was discovered during the paving of Salah El-Din Street, and the first thing that was discovered was two tombs, one for an old person and the other for a young child,” Khella added.