Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a flashpoint holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Tensions over the site in occupied East Jerusalem have fuelled past 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 as a “provocative intrusion” that endangered the fragile status quo regarding the Jerusalem compound.
The mosque is situated in the Al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. The site is also revered by Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.
Under the status quo, non-Muslims may visit the site but cannot pray. However, Jewish visitors have been increasingly defying the ban, something Palestinians consider provocation, fearing that Israel intends to take over the site.
Ben-Gvir said he went up to the site to pray for the return of Israeli captives “but without a reckless deal, without surrendering”.
Hamas said the move by Ben-Gvir was a “dangerous escalation” and called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to take “serious action to stop these systemic violations” of the holy site.
Truce talks in jeopardy as Israel steps up offensive
Israeli negotiators landed in Cairo on Wednesday to continue truce talks, which appear to have stalled after a senior Hamas official said that the group was withdrawing from the talks after recent Israeli strikes on Gaza but was ready to return if its attitude changes.
Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has accused Israel of deliberately undermining negotiations for a truce and captives release deal because it did not want to end the war.
Israel’s military offensive in central Gaza continues to intensify, with 54 Palestinians killed in 24 hours, Palestinian authorities said on Thursday.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said the intense Israeli bombing campaign in the centre of the enclave has left 500 people dead in the past 10 days.
“That’s likely a conservative number. When you consider all those missing, it’s probably far higher than this,” he said.
“This morning, a whole family of three generations – grandparents, parents, and their children – were all killed. This is the pattern of systematic mass killing that we’ve witnessed over and over,” Mahmoud stated.
Netanyahu visits Rafah
As Israeli forces continued attacks on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address the United States Congress next week, made a surprise visit to Israeli troops in the area around Rafah, telling them that military pressure combined and an insistence on securing the release of dozens of captives still held in Gaza was producing results.
“This double pressure is not delaying the deal, it is advancing it,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
Around 250 people were taken captive during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel, in which at least 1,139 people were killed, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza has killed at least 38,848 people and wounded 89,459 others, according to Palestinian officials.
Israelis released from captivity in the Gaza Strip are planning a protest on Thursday against Netanyahu’s US trip.
They say they will release a “special statement” at a square in Tel Aviv where protesters calling for the release of captives and new elections have gathered since the start of the war.
