On Tuesday evening, the el-Hamma Synagogue in the Gabès Governorate of Tunisia was reportedly set on fire. Footage of the incident shows no immediate response from police or emergency services.

The entrance of the site once held a plaque that read, in Hebrew, “In honor of the holy Kabbalist Rabbi Yassaf El-Ma’arabi, a student of the 16th-century Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria.”

Though the synagogue in el-Hamma currently stands unused due to the absence of a Jewish community in the area, its significance remains. Follow-up videos from the subsequent morning depicted extensive fire damage to the shul complex and Arabic graffiti adorning the walls of the few rooms that remained untouched.

This incident occurred shortly after false media reports alleged that the Israel Defense Forces had bombed the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. However, US and Israeli officials, as well as independent intelligence analysts, have unanimously identified the cause of the explosion as a misguided rocket launched by the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.

Neither Tunisian nor international media outlets have covered the el-Hamma synagogue attack, completely blocking out its occurrence.

This event follows closely on the heels of a tragic terror assault in May at the historical El Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Djerba. According to the Tunisian Interior Ministry, a naval officer stationed on the island was the assailant, initially killing a colleague at his base. Afterward, he procured more ammunition and traveled to the synagogue, opening fire on the entrance guards. The attack resulted in four deaths, including two security personnel and two cousins: Benjamin Haddad, a 42-year-old French national, and Aviel Haddad, a 30-year-old dual citizen of France and Israel residing in Israel.

Additionally, ten individuals, comprising four worshipers and six security officers, sustained injuries and received medical attention at local hospitals.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)