The site, said by local tradition to be where the biblical Samson brought down a temple on his Philistine captors, housed a Byzantine church before the 7th century caliph Omar brought Islam to the Mediterranean and reconsecrated it as a mosque.

In the centuries since, the mosque was embellished and restored countless times by Mamluks, Crusaders and Ottomans, renowned throughout the Middle Ages as the area's architectural marvel.

Its minaret was the main landmark in the Gaza skyline. Worshippers would pack its basilica, with vaulted ceilings and cool glazed tile floors, spilling out after prayers through the stately facade, the arched stone courtyard and the compound's gates into the surrounding market streets of the Old City.