Hamas says Israel has bombed Gaza’s medieval Omari Mosque, causing widespread destruction to the building, Reuters reports.

Hamas termed it a “heinous, barbaric crime”.

Photographs carried by media in Gaza that Reuters could not immediately verify showed massive damage to the mosque, with fallen walls and roofs and a huge crack at the bottom of the stone minaret.

Reuters journalists from Gaza identified the minaret in the picture as being that of the Omari Mosque.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the damage to the mosque.