Tensions intensified at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem shortly after its reported reopening on Thursday, as access restrictions were again enforced and large numbers of worshippers were removed from the site. The sequence of events unfolded rapidly following dawn prayers, with security forces entering the courtyards and dispersing those present.

According to eyewitness accounts, the area was cleared shortly after Fajr, with several worshippers detained and others pushed out of the compound. The measures were followed by the entry of approximately 500 individuals in organised groups, moving through the courtyards under heavy protection, while performing ritual activities that heightened sensitivity inside the site.

Reports from the scene also described repeated actions perceived as deliberately provocative within the compound, including religious rituals carried out in the courtyards and the sounding of a shofar. These developments contributed to a heightened sense of tension in a location already subject to strict controls under ongoing occupation policies in Jerusalem.

Observers and local sources argue that the latest incidents reflect a continuing pattern of tightened restrictions and repeated incursions at the site, warning that the situation around the Al-Aqsa Mosque is entering an increasingly volatile phase amid the broader context of the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.