TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem reopened to Muslim worshippers on Thursday, after Israel closed the area for 40 days amid a joint military campaign against Iran with the US.
According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene, the Old City mosque reopened at dawn, allowing hundreds of Palestinian Muslims to enter the Al-Haram al-Sharif compound.
As the gates opened with the sound of the morning call to prayer, many worshippers thronged the site, some breaking into tears and prostrating in gratitude in the courtyard.
Hundreds of Muslims lined up for morning prayers, marking the first congregational prayer at the site since its closure.
Earlier on Sunday, April 6, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the compound while it remained closed.
Israel has completely blocked access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque since February 28, when it launched the joint strikes on Iran with the United States.
Israel only allows mosque staff and officials from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf to pray at the site. Other Palestinians were forced to pray in smaller mosques across the city.
Israeli authorities also banned Eid al-Fitr prayers in 2026 at Al-Aqsa Mosque. This marked the first such restriction since Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.
Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest Christian sites in Jerusalem, during the same period.
The Israeli government extended the state of emergency until mid-April, but did not specify whether the mosque would remain closed during that period.
Read: Report: Over 65,000 Israeli Settlers Entered Al-Aqsa Compound in 2025
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