Sheikh Yousef Salama, former Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs and preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque, was killed on Sunday morning in an Israeli airstrike on his home in the Al Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The attack led to the murder of Sheikh Salama and the injury of several members of his family.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the attack led to Sheikh Salama’s murder and the injury of several members of his family.
Sheikh Salama was born in 1964 in Al Maghazi refugee camp, where his house is currently situated.
His family, who originally belonged to the town of Beit Tima, were displaced during the Nakba in 1948.
Sheikh Salama held several prestigious positions and responsibilities, including Minister of Endowments (Awqaf) and Religious Affairs and Secretary of the Academic Council at Al-Azhar Institute in Gaza.
He also served as a lecturer at the Al-Azhar University of Gaza.
Apart from these designations he often preached and led prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque.
After obtaining a master’s degree in the Islamic endowment in Palestine, he went on to complete his doctoral research on “the social solidarity in the Islamic endowment and its effects in Palestine.”
He maintained a good relation with Islamic scholars across the world, and especially South Asia.
Israeli warplanes also bombed two houses and three mosques in Central Gaza, leaving several Palestinians martyred and injured.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 21,822 Palestinians have been killed, and 56,451 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
