Israeli Occupation Plans to Storm al-Aqsa on Eid al-Adha

Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)
Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)
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Israeli Occupation Plans to Storm al-Aqsa on Eid al-Adha

Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)
Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (File photo: AFP)

Jewish extremist and settler groups plan to storm the al-Aqsa mosque compound under the protection of occupation forces on the first day of Eid al-Adha which also marks the anniversary of the so called “Tisha Bav,” warned President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser for religious affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash.

He stressed that the whole world should work to prevent this crime before it is too late, noting that such move could trigger religious strife in the region and have dangerous consequences.

Habbash asserted that the Palestinian people will protect al-Aqsa Mosque and its sanctity.

He called on all the Palestinian people who are able to reach al-Aqsa to attend Eid prayers and support Jerusalemites in protecting and defending the Mosque, stressing that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Abbas, is following up the developments with concern.

“We will do everything possible, together with our people, to protect al-Aqsa Mosque,” he asserted.

Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine Sheikh Mohammed Hussein announced that Eid al-Adha prayers at the Mosque will be at 7:30 am instead of 6:30, after the threats of occupation forces and settlers to storm the compound.

In his Friday sermon at the Mosque, Hussein urged all Palestinians to come to the Mosque on the first day of Eid, stressing that al-Aqsa is for Muslims only and that it is not subject to negotiations or bargaining.

In a joint statement signed by the Islamic Supreme Council, Council of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, and Hussein, Palestinian officials announced that all mosques in Jerusalem will be closed and that Eid prayers will take place in al-Aqsa.

Fatah movement urged the people to participate in the prayers at al-Aqsa, emphasizing its important status.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians performed Friday prayers outdoors in a sit-in tent in Wadi al-Hummus, in occupied East Jerusalem, to protest Israel's demolition of several homes last month.

On July 22, Israel demolished 16 Palestinian-owned buildings in Sur Baher and displaced dozens of Palestinians in the process. The demolition sparked wide scale condemnation from Arab and other states.

Most of the demolished lands of Sur Baher are categorized within Area A under Palestinian sovereignty, according to the Oslo Agreement.



Gaza Rescuers Say Seven Killed in Israeli Air Strikes 

21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Seven Killed in Israeli Air Strikes 

21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Tuesday that seven people were killed in fresh Israeli air strikes across the Hamas-run territory.

"The occupation launched violent air strikes on Gaza City and the towns of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Khan Younis, killing seven civilians," civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

Four people were killed in the Al-Rimal area near Gaza City, two in Al-Sabra west of Gaza City and one in Khan Younis.

"The occupation also destroyed more than 10 homes east of Gaza City and in Rafah," he added.

The Israeli military, which did not immediately comment, has intensified its aerial bombardments and expanded its ground operations in the Gaza Strip since it resumed its offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory on March 18.

Gaza's civil defense agency on Monday accused the Israeli military of carrying out "summary executions" in the killing of 15 rescue workers last month, rejecting the findings of an internal probe by the army.

At least 1,691 people have been killed in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,065, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hamas's attack on Israel that ignited the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.