Israel’s security minister visited a courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a provocative move that could threaten ceasefire talks.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a hotbed of holy activity in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Tensions over the site in occupied East Jerusalem have fueled previous rounds of Israeli-Palestinian violence, and Ben-Gvir’s visit on Thursday threatens to disrupt sensitive talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Israel’s more than nine-month war on Gaza.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the visit, calling it a “provocative intrusion” that endangers the fragile status quo in the Jerusalem complex.
The mosque is located in the Al-Aqsa compound, the world’s third holiest site for Muslims. The site is also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.
Under the status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site but cannot pray. However, Jewish visitors have increasingly defied the ban, which Palestinians see as a provocation, fearing that Israel wants to take over the site.
Ben-Gvir said he went there to pray for the return of the Israeli captives “but without a rash agreement, without surrender.”
Hamas said Ben-Gvir’s decision constituted a “dangerous escalation” and called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to take “serious measures to end these systemic violations” of the holy site.
Truce negotiations threatened by intensified Israeli offensive
Israeli negotiators landed in Cairo on Wednesday to continue truce talks, which appeared to have stalled after a senior Hamas official said the group was withdrawing from negotiations following recent Israeli strikes on Gaza but was ready to return if its stance changes.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of deliberately undermining negotiations for a truce and a deal to release the captives because it does not want to end the war.
The Israeli military offensive in central Gaza continues to escalate, with 54 Palestinians killed in 24 hours, Palestinian authorities announced Thursday.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said the intense Israeli bombing campaign in the centre of the enclave had left 500 people dead over the past 10 days.
“That’s probably a conservative number. If you take into account all the missing people, that number is probably much higher,” he said.
“This morning, an entire family of three generations – grandparents, parents and children – was killed. This is the pattern of systematic killing that we have witnessed time and time again,” Mahmoud said.
Netanyahu visits Rafah
As Israeli forces continue their attacks on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address the US Congress next week, made a surprise visit to Israeli troops in the area around Rafah, telling them that military pressure combined with insistence on the release of dozens of captives still held in Gaza was producing results.
“This double pressure does not delay the agreement, it moves it forward,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
About 250 people were captured in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, in which at least 1,139 people were killed, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on Israeli statistics.
Israel’s war on Gaza has left at least 38,848 dead and 89,459 injured, according to Palestinian officials.
Israelis freed from captivity in the Gaza Strip are planning a protest Thursday against Netanyahu’s trip to the United States.
They said they would issue a “special statement” in a Tel Aviv square where protesters demanding the release of prisoners and new elections have gathered since the war began.