TOP 10 CHURCHES AND MOSQUES ATTACKED OR DESTROYED BY ISRAEL

 

TOP 10 CHURCHES AND MOSQUES ATTACKED OR DESTROYED BY ISRAEL

There is a tendency to see what is happening in Palestine and Lebanon simply as a conflict between Muslims and Zionists.

It is not.

Muslims form the majority of the population suffering the destruction, particularly in Gaza and southern Lebanon. But these lands are also home to some of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

For the vast majority of their history spanning hundreds of years, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in these lands in peace - sharing the same towns, streets, markets and sacred geography. While conflicts did flare up from time to time, they were the exception rather than the rule; peaceful coexistence was the enduring baseline of daily life.

In fact, many may not realise that even today, Lebanon offers a remarkable example of Christian-Muslim power-sharing. By convention, its President is a Maronite Christian, its Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and its Speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. Parliamentary seats are divided equally between Christians and Muslims, ensuring that Lebanon's major communities share responsibility rather than allowing one to dominate.

This shared history is important because when a land is attacked, occupied or its people displaced, it is not only one religious community that suffers. The homes, neighbourhoods, institutions and places of worship built by generations of different communities are caught in the destruction too.

Churches have been attacked. Mosques have been destroyed. Ancient religious buildings have been damaged. Christian communities have been displaced alongside Muslim communities.

This conflict must therefore be understood beyond religion alone. At its heart are questions of land, occupation, displacement, settlements, security, sovereignty and ultimately who controls the territory.

The destruction of religious heritage allows us to see another dimension of what is being lost. Some of these buildings have stood for hundreds of years. Some belong to traditions stretching back almost two millennia.

Here are 10 important Christian sites and 10 important Muslim sites in Palestine and Lebanon that have been attacked, damaged or destroyed during Israeli military operations in recent years.

TOP 10 CHRISTIAN HERITAGE SITES

1. Saint Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church - Gaza City, Palestine

One of Gaza's oldest active churches, tracing its Christian history to the fifth century. An Israeli strike in October 2023 hit a compound building where displaced Christians were sheltering, killing at least 17 people. Israel stated its target was nearby Hamas infrastructure.

2. Saint George Melkite Catholic Church - Derdghaya, Lebanon

This historic church in southern Lebanon was devastated during Israeli attacks in October 2024, badly damaging the complex and surrounding facilities.

3. Saint George Melkite Catholic Church - Yaroun, Lebanon

Part of southern Lebanon's longstanding Christian presence, this heritage-listed church was destroyed during Israeli military operations in 2024.

4. Salvatorian Sisters' Convent - Yaroun, Lebanon

This Catholic complex included a convent and former school. Israeli forces destroyed the complex in 2026. Israel alleged Hezbollah military activity there, a claim strongly rejected by Catholic authorities.

5. Melkite Greek Catholic Church - Tyre, Lebanon

Tyre is one of Christianity's ancient centres in the Levant. The UN Human Rights Office reported that a Melkite Greek Catholic church there was destroyed or severely damaged during Israeli operations.

6. Our Lady of the Assumption Church - Nabatieh, Lebanon

Serving Nabatieh's longstanding Christian community, this Melkite Catholic church and its parish buildings suffered significant damage from Israeli strikes.

7. Holy Family Catholic Church - Gaza City, Palestine

Gaza's only Roman Catholic parish became a refuge for hundreds of civilians. An Israeli tank strike in July 2025 killed three people and injured others, including its parish priest. Israel said the strike was accidental.

8. Gaza Baptist Church - Gaza City, Palestine

Partially destroyed in earlier bombardment and damaged again during Israeli bombing in late 2023, this church represents Gaza's small, diverse Palestinian Christian community.

9. Saint John the Baptist Church - Sarda, Lebanon

This church was badly affected during Israeli military operations and demolitions around the village.

10. Christian Church at Alma al-Shaab - Lebanon

Alma al-Shaab is one of southern Lebanon's historic Christian communities near the Israeli border. Its religious property suffered damage amid extensive destruction in the village.

These are not simply buildings. They represent communities whose presence in Palestine and Lebanon predates the modern State of Israel by many centuries.

TOP 10 MUSLIM HERITAGE SITES

The destruction of Muslim religious heritage has been considerably greater numerically, with hundreds of mosques in Gaza alone reportedly damaged or destroyed.

1. Great Omari Mosque - Gaza City, Palestine

Perhaps Gaza's most important historic mosque, its site carries centuries of religious history. Incorporating a former Byzantine and Crusader church, it was expanded under the Mamluks and Ottomans before much of it was destroyed by bombardment.

2. Ibn Uthman Mosque - Gaza City, Palestine

One of Gaza's key historic mosques, principally dating from the Mamluk period. UNESCO has verified damage to the site.

3. Zofor Domri Mosque - Gaza City, Palestine

Another important monument of Gaza's medieval Islamic heritage that has suffered UNESCO-verified damage.

4. Prophet Benjamin Shrine and Mosque - Mhaibib, Lebanon

UN documentation describes this shrine as approximately 2,000 years old. The shrine and adjoining religious structures were destroyed during Israeli operations in 2024.

5. Historic Yaroun Mosque - Lebanon

Approximately 300 years old, this historic mosque was destroyed during Israeli operations, as documented by UN experts.

6. Great Mosque of Bint Jbeil - Lebanon

An important historic mosque in one of southern Lebanon's best-known towns, which suffered severe destruction alongside its surrounding urban area.

7. Shrine of Shimon al-Safa - Chamaa, Lebanon

This unusual site crosses religious traditions, associated locally with Simon Peter or Simon the Zealot. The shrine and historic complex have suffered major damage.

8. Ahel El-Quran Mosque - Dhayra, Lebanon

This mosque was destroyed using manually placed explosives, with Amnesty International verifying the destruction through video and satellite imagery.

9. Noble Messenger Mosque - Dhayra, Lebanon

Described as the village's oldest mosque, it was blown up during Israeli military operations, with Amnesty International verifying video of its destruction.

10. Mosques of Aita Ash-Shaab - Lebanon

Amnesty International's satellite analysis found four mosques destroyed as large sections of Aita Ash-Shaab were razed during operations.

The numbers tell us something important.

This is not simply the destruction of Muslim heritage. It is the destruction of part of the accumulated cultural and religious heritage of the Holy Land and the Levant.

Muslim heritage is being destroyed. Christian heritage is being destroyed. And sites carrying layers of Jewish, Christian and Muslim history are being damaged with them.

Perhaps the three Abrahamic traditions themselves offer us a better way forward.

JUDAISM

The Hebrew Bible says:

"For My House shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

 - Isaiah 56:7

God's house does not belong exclusively to one ethnicity or people. It is a house of prayer for all peoples.

CHRISTIANITY

Jesus teaches:

"Blessed are the peacemakers."

-        Matthew 5:9

Christianity does not glorify those who destroy the sacred spaces of others. It elevates those who make peace.

ISLAM

The Quran specifically names the places of worship of different religions:

"Had Allah not repelled some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is much mentioned, would surely have been demolished."

-        Quran 22:40

The scriptures explain with clarity what we must do. Regardless of faith, we must work together to end Israel's wrongdoing as soon as possible.

Peace,

Anas Zubedy

Kuala Lumpur

 

STARBIZ TODAY - THE HIGHER-ORDER WORK OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

 

THE HIGHER-ORDER WORK OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

Dear Captains,

Much of what we learn about leadership and management focuses on practical skills: setting goals, delegating, developing teams, giving feedback and handling difficult conversations.

These are important. Every leader-manager needs them.

However, the higher we rise, the less sufficient these individual skills become. A chief executive, unit head or leader-manager of a public institution must work above any single task or technique. At this level, we are responsible for the direction, performance and health of the whole organisation.

It is the higher-order work of a leader-manager, understood through five responsibilities.

1. BEING HONEST WITH REALITY

The first responsibility is to be honest with reality. This requires us to define reality clearly, establishing what is and what is not, without allowing our likes, dislikes or emotional attachments to distort what we see.

The higher we rise, the more likely reality reaches us through reports, meetings and people who may filter what they communicate. We may receive plenty of data but still misunderstand what is happening.

Defining reality requires us to distinguish activity from results, symptoms from causes, and temporary disturbances from deeper patterns. We must notice what people are saying, not saying or afraid to say.

We must also look outside. Changes in customers, technology, demographics, regulation and public mood may reshape our future before appearing in our financial statements.

We need to ask: What is really happening? What has changed? Which assumptions are we still carrying? What are we failing to see? Where are the risks and opportunities? What should we keep, abandon or modify?

A leader-manager cannot respond wisely without first being honest with reality.

2. ACT WHILE READING THE SITUATION

Leader-managers do not operate from a distance. We must participate in events while observing what they reveal.

Example, while chairing a meeting, we must notice who is engaged, who has withdrawn, where resistance is developing and whether agreement is genuine or merely polite. We must also read the emotions, relationships and interests influencing the conversation.

We need to be inside the action while mentally stepping outside it to see what is happening.

Every action produces new information. Success may reveal an opportunity. Failure may expose a mistaken assumption. People and circumstances may change.

Plans must guide us without becoming straitjackets. We need check-in points to compare results with expectations, examine assumptions and adjust when necessary.

Leader-managers should listen first and speak last. If the most senior person speaks too early, others may arrange their views around the leader-manager’s position. Important information may never reach the table.

To act while continuing to read and adjust is leadership and management in motion.

3. MANAGE TODAY AND BUILD TOMORROW

Every organisation lives in two time horizons.

We must perform today. Customers must be served, commitments fulfilled, standards maintained, employees supported and problems resolved. Without current performance, there may be no organisation left to inherit the future.

We must also prepare for tomorrow by developing people, renewing capabilities, exploring opportunities and responding to changes that may make today’s successful practices obsolete.

The challenge is not choosing one over the other. It is managing both simultaneously.

Some leader-managers exhaust their people, postpone investment and neglect succession to produce present results. They make today look successful by borrowing from tomorrow.

Others speak about transformation while allowing present performance to deteriorate. But we cannot build tomorrow if we repeatedly fail today.

We must make work productive while developing our people. We must use present strengths while building new ones, and protect what remains valuable while changing what no longer serves us.

Managing today preserves performance. Building tomorrow preserves relevance.

4. MOVE THE WHOLE SYSTEM

Knowledge and good intentions are useful only when translated into coordinated action.

At senior levels, personal effort is no longer enough. We must align people, priorities, structures, information and resources so the whole organisation moves in the intended direction.

An announcement is not execution. Neither is a strategic plan or decision recorded in the minutes.

A decision becomes actionable when people know what must be done, who is responsible, the deadline, and who must be consulted or informed. Without clarity, sensible decisions dissolve into delay and confusion.

Communication is not something we add after a decision. It is part of making the decision work.

Meetings must become working mechanisms rather than rituals. Each should have a clear purpose, the right people and a defined outcome, ending with responsibilities, deadlines and follow-up.

Moving the system also means putting capable people where they can create the greatest value, including major opportunities.

The test is not how hard the leader-manager works. The test is whether people across the organisation understand the direction, accept responsibility and act without continually waiting for the leader-manager.

A strong leader-manager does not merely move people. A strong leader-manager builds an organisation capable of moving.

5. EXERCISE JUDGEMENT

Finally, we come to judgement.

Decision-making is part of judgement, but they are not the same. A decision is the visible choice. Judgement is the deeper capacity to determine what should be chosen, why, when to act and what consequences we are prepared to accept.

Senior leader-managers rarely choose between something clearly right and wrong. More often, we choose between competing priorities, risks and imperfect possibilities.

We must judge what matters most, what can wait, what must change and what should be preserved. We must balance present performance with future capability, speed with consultation and organisational interests with stakeholder needs.

We must judge when to direct, persuade, negotiate, support or step aside, and what to entrust to others. Most importantly, we must ask not only whether an action is legal or profitable, but whether it is right for the organisation.

Good judgement requires the humility to review our decisions. When something fails, we must ask whether the problem lies in implementation or our original judgement.

The most useful questions are: What needs to be done? What is right for the organisation? What are the likely consequences? What will this decision solve, and what new problems might it create?

Judgement comes last because it draws upon all the other responsibilities. We must judge the reality we have faced honestly, the situation while acting within it, the balance between today and tomorrow, and how the whole system should be moved.

THE WORK BENEATH THE WORK

Dear Captains, the higher-order work of leadership and management can be summarised as:

Being Honest With Reality. Act While Reading. Manage Today and Build Tomorrow. Move the Whole System. Exercise Judgement.

These are not separate steps. We move continuously among them. Being honest with reality informs judgement. Action reveals new reality. Today’s performance creates the capacity to build tomorrow. Judgement guides the system, while its response provides new information.

Goal-setting, delegation, coaching, feedback and difficult conversations remain essential. But they are the instruments. The higher-order work determines how, when and why those instruments should be used.

The higher we rise, the more honest we must be with reality, the longer the future we must consider, the larger the system we must move and the more consequential our judgement becomes.

To read the previous article on StarBiz “FOUR LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES CAPTAINS CANNOT IGNORE” click on the link:

STARBIZ TODAY - FOUR LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES CAPTAINS CANNOT IGNORE

 

 

EMPAT CABARAN KEPIMPINAN YANG TIDAK BOLEH DIABAIKAN - Sinar Harian Hari Ini

 

EMPAT CABARAN KEPIMPINAN YANG TIDAK BOLEH DIABAIKAN

Yang dihormati Kapten Industri dan Institut Awam,

Kalau kita teliti merentasi pelbagai industri dan organisasi, ada satu hakikat yang sering berulang dari dekad ke dekad: kebimbangan yang sama mengenai kepimpinan terus timbul. Walaupun keadaan sentiasa berubah, apabila Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO), Lembaga Pengarah, dan pihak pengurusan kanan berbincangkan cabaran melahirkan pemimpin pelapis, isu yang diketengahkan tetap sama-iaitu berpusat pada empat masalah utama: kegagalan Melihat Gambaran Keseluruhan; kegagalan Menggerakkan Tugas, Pasukan, dan Individu ke arah matlamat korporat; kelemahan Membina Hubungan; serta kegagalan Mengamalkan Sikap Pengikut yang Berkesan (Followership).

Kita sering dihidangkan dengan pelbagai keluhan biasa: pengurus yang cekap dalam fungsi masing-masing tetapi bergelut melihat organisasi secara menyeluruh; pengurus yang mencapai sasaran tetapi menyinggung perasaan orang lain; atau yang membina pasukan kukuh namun secara tidak sengaja mewujudkan wilayah peribadi (turf) serta ketegangan dengan jabatan lain. Tidak kurang juga yang cemerlang menjaga kebajikan warga kerja tetapi enggan menuntut akauntabiliti, atau tahu mengurus pihak atasan tetapi gagal mengurus pihak bawahan mahupun rakan sekerja sama aras. Malah, semakin kerap kita dapati isu pelaksanaan terbantut apabila strategi korporat yang jelas menjadi perlahan, pudar, atau ditentang semasa ia cuba dilaksanakan merentas organisasi.

Ini bukan sekadar isu pembangunan kepimpinan biasa; ia memberi kesan langsung kepada produktiviti, kecekapan, pelaksanaan, kolaborasi, dan perancangan penggantian.

MELIHAT GAMBARAN KESELURUHAN

Cabaran pertama ini mungkin yang paling kerap kita saksikan: mentaliti silo. Kebanyakan orang memulakan kerjaya dengan cemerlang dalam bidang yang spesifik. Jurutera menjadi mahir, profesional kewangan cekap dalam akaun, dan jurujual membina kepakaran pasaran. Organisasi sememangnya memerlukan pakar.

Kesukaran mula timbul apabila tanggungjawab berkembang, namun perspektif tidak berkembang bersama-sama. Ketua jabatan terus memikirkan hal jabatannya semata-mata, manakala pemimpin fungsional melihat isu organisasi berpandukan skop fungsi mereka sahaja. Apa yang dahulu merupakan kekuatan, akhirnya bertukar menjadi batasan.

Apabila tanggungjawab bertambah, persoalan utama mesti berubah. Kita tidak boleh lagi sekadar bertanya: "Apakah yang terbaik untuk jabatan saya?" Sebaliknya, ia mesti beralih kepada: "Apakah yang terbaik untuk organisasi?"

Organisasi adalah sistem yang saling berhubung. Apa yang kelihatan cekap untuk satu jabatan mungkin mewujudkan beban kerja tambahan di tempat lain. Inilah sebabnya pemimpin kanan mesti membina perspektif merentas-seluruh-syarikat (enterprise-wide) untuk memahami keutamaan korporat, mengenali kesalingantungan, dan membuat keputusan berteraskan apa yang memajukan seluruh organisasi. Jika tidak, pengurus yang kompeten mungkin berjaya mengoptimumkan bahagian individu tetapi merugikan keseluruhan organisasi. Peralihan asasnya jelas: Daripada KAWASAN SAYA kepada ORGANISASI KITA.

MENGGERAKKAN TUGAS, PASUKAN, DAN INDIVIDU

Cabaran kedua berkisar tentang cara pengurus memimpin di lapangan. Secara umumnya, terdapat tiga orientasi utama: fokus pada Tugasan, fokus pada Pasukan, dan fokus pada Individu. Setiap satunya mempunyai kekuatan besar, tetapi masalah bermula apabila satu orientasi menjadi terlalu dominan hingga mengetepikan yang lain.

Kita memerlukan pengurus berorientasikan tugas yang komited terhadap sasaran dan tarikh akhir. Namun, apabila orientasi ini keterlaluan, pengurus mencapai matlamat tetapi melukai hati orang di sekeliling, dan mereka sendiri menjadi penghalang (bottleneck) apabila segala-galanya mesti melalui kelulusannya. Cabarannya: Sempurnakan tugasan tanpa menyinggung perasaan warga kerja.

Pengurus berorientasikan pasukan pula mahir memupuk semangat setiakawan, tetapi ia boleh bertukar menjadi perebutan wilayah apabila sumber dikawal ketat dan jabatan lain dianggap pesaing. Cabarannya: Bina pasukan kukuh tanpa mewujudkan wilayah peribadi.

Pengurus berorientasikan individu menekankan sokongan dan kemudahan didekati. Masalah bermula apabila keinginan menjaga kebajikan bertukar menjadi keperluan untuk disukai ramai, menyebabkan mereka mengelakkan perbualan sukar dan bertolak ansur dengan prestasi lemah. Cabarannya: Ambil berat tentang individu tanpa perlu bergantung pada keinginan disukai.

Pemimpin yang berkesan tidak boleh memilih salah satu sahaja; tanggungjawab mereka adalah mengimbang dan menggerakkan ketiga-tiganya serentak ke arah matlamat korporat.

MEMBINA HUBUNGAN

Kita tidak mungkin dapat menggerakkan Tugas, Pasukan, dan Individu dengan berkesan sekiranya gagal membina hubungan. Hubungan dalam organisasi tidak bergerak sehala; pemimpin perlu menguasai seni menguruskan perhubungan dalam empat arah: ke atas (upwards), secara mendatar (sideways), ke bawah (downwards), dan diri sendiri (self).

Sesetengah pengurus cemerlang menguruskan pihak atasan tetapi gagal di peringkat bawahan, atau bergelut berkolaborasi merentas fungsi kerana perbezaan pendapat diheret menjadi isu peribadi. Malah, tidak kurang yang bergelut dengan arah paling kritikal: menguruskan diri sendiri. Ego, perasaan tidak selamat (insecurity), serta emosi yang gagal dikawal akhirnya menjejaskan keputusan profesional.

Kecekapan teknikal mungkin melayakkan pengurus dinaikkan pangkat, tetapi lebih tinggi seseorang mendaki, lebih banyak keputusan bergantung pada keupayaan membina kepercayaan, mengurus diri sendiri, dan bekerja secara berkesan dengan semua pihak-terutamanya mereka yang tiada autoriti rasmi ke atas diri mereka.

MENGAMALKAN PENGIKUT YANG BERKESAN (FOLLOWERSHIP)

Program latihan kepimpinan konvensional banyak menumpukan cara memimpin, tetapi jauh sedikit masa mengajar pemimpin cara menjadi pengikut. Hakikatnya, tiada organisasi boleh berfungsi berkesan jika semua warganya mahu menjadi ketua, tetapi tiada siapa tahu bila dan bagaimana mengikut arahan.

Pada peringkat senior, pengurus berpengalaman tinggi mungkin secara senyap-senyap tidak bersetuju dengan strategi korporat baharu, lalu memperlahankan pelaksanaan atau mentafsir arahan secara pilih kasih. Di peringkat pertengahan pula, pengurus mudah terperangkap menjadi titik halangan di mana strategi menjadi cair, ditafsir mengikut selera sendiri, atau dibiarkan mati secara senyap.

Bahkan di peringkat operasi, pengikut yang bertanggungjawab amat krusial. Pengikut yang baik bukanlah pasif; mereka menyumbangkan idea dan mencabar andaian secara membina. Namun, sebaik sahaja keputusan sah dimuktamadkan, perbincangan mesti berubah menjadi penjajaran (alignment) dan pelaksanaan.

EMPAT CABARAN, SATU ORGANISASI

Kepada para Peneraju sekalian, keempat-empat cabaran ini saling berhubung kait. Pemimpin yang gagal Melihat Gambaran Keseluruhan akan melindungi silo mereka; pemimpin yang gagal Menggerakkan Tugas, Pasukan, dan Individu terperangkap dalam gaya pengurusan sempit; mereka yang gagal Membina Hubungan bergelut melangkaui batas autoriti rasmi; manakala mereka yang gagal mengamalkan Pengikut Berkesan menjadi dinding pemisah di antara hala tuju dan pelaksanaan.

Keupayaan kepimpinan ini jarang sekali berkembang dengan sendirinya hanya kerana faktor tempoh perkhidmatan atau senioriti semata-mata. Ia perlu dibentuk dan diasah secara sengaja melalui program pembangunan pengurusan yang berstruktur, bimbingan (coaching), serta pementoran (mentoring).).

Kita sebagai Peneraju wajar kerap bertanya empat soalan asas: Bolehkah mereka berfikir demi kepentingan seluruh organisasi? Bolehkah mereka menggerakkan Tugas, Pasukan, dan Individu secara serentak? Bolehkah mereka membina hubungan dalam kesemua empat arah? Dan adakah mereka tahu mengamalkan pengikut yang berkesan serta melaksanakannya?

Jika kita tidak berpuas hati dengan jawapan tersebut, inilah bidang yang wajar diberi perhatian dalam menyediakan pemimpin masa depan. Lagipun, kita tidak boleh mensiap-siagakan seseorang untuk tanggungjawab lebih besar hanya dengan memberi mereka gelaran yang lebih besar; kita wajib membina keupayaan mereka. 

Artikel sebelum ini di Sinar Harian “LAPAN BULATAN SEORANG PEMIMPIN-PENGURUS "

Klik di sini: anas zubedy: LAPAN BULATAN SEORANG PEMIMPIN-PENGURUS - Sinar Harian Hari Ini