Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has visited and prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a move that breaches the long-standing 'status quo' arrangement with Muslim authorities that prohibits Jewish prayer at the site. The visit, conducted with a reported group of 1,250 people and accompanied by police, drew swift condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry issued a statement expressing condemnation 'in the strongest terms' of what it called 'repeated provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation authorities against al-Aqsa mosque,' warning that such actions 'fuel the conflict in the region.' Jordan, which serves as custodian of the site, accused Ben-Gvir of 'provocative incursions' and urged Israel to prevent escalation.
During his visit, Ben-Gvir renewed calls for Israel to 'declare sovereignty over Gaza' and 'encourage voluntary migration,' echoing his earlier comments in response to videos of emaciated Israeli hostages released by Palestinian militants. The incident comes as the health ministry in Gaza reported 119 deaths in the past 24 hours from ongoing Israeli strikes, bringing the total death toll since 7 October 2023 to 60,839, with 149,588 injured. Additionally, six adults have died from famine and severe malnutrition, raising the hunger-related death toll to 175, including 93 children.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that one of its staff members was killed and three wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Younis headquarters. Thousands of Palestinians protested in the occupied West Bank against the war and in support of prisoners in Israeli jails. Meanwhile, fresh clashes broke out in Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province, killing at least four people and straining a fragile ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Hamas's 'inhumanity without bounds' after the group released videos showing two visibly emaciated Israeli hostages. Ben-Gvir's action was described by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as a 'provocation.'
