Tens of thousands of worshippers gathered at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday in a powerful display of resilience, despite tightened Israeli restrictions and an intensified military presence surrounding the holy site. Crowds began arriving in the early hours of the morning, moving through heavily monitored checkpoints and narrow access routes leading into the Old City.

Islamic authorities in Jerusalem estimated that around 65,000 Palestinians attended the Friday prayers inside the mosque compound. Witnesses described a tense atmosphere around the gates of Al-Aqsa, where large numbers of Israeli forces were deployed throughout the area, limiting movement and subjecting worshippers to extensive inspections.

Several Palestinians were reportedly prevented from reaching the mosque, including well-known community figures who were stopped near the vicinity of Bab al-Asbat and redirected away from the compound. Restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa have remained in place for years, with many Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza continuing to face severe limitations on their ability to worship at one of Islam’s holiest sites amid the ongoing genocidal war.