Over 100,000 worshippers attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa

Al-Aqsa Mosque – (Web Desk) – More than 100,000 Muslim worshippers flocked to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem on Friday to perform their weekly prayers — a deeply emotional moment after weeks of absence. The Islamic authority overseeing the holy site confirmed the large turnout, just one day after the mosque reopened its doors following a ceasefire agreement reached between the United States and Iran.

Jerusalem’s Old City, sacred to the world’s three great Abrahamic faiths, had been effectively shut down since late February, when a US-Israeli military strike on Iran plunged the region into war. Nestled within its ancient walls are some of the most revered spiritual landmarks on earth — the Al-Aqsa Mosque, cherished by Muslims; the Western Wall, held dear by Jews; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, sacred to Christians. All three sites sit in East Jerusalem, a territory that remains under Israeli occupation and annexation.

The holy sites welcomed visitors again on Thursday, a day after Washington and Tehran jointly announced a two-week truce, offering a brief but welcome pause to the conflict. For many Muslim worshippers, the reopening carried particular pain — they had been denied access to Al-Aqsa even during Ramadan this year, one of the holiest periods in the Islamic calendar.

On Friday, more than 100,000 Muslims performed the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa, according to the Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian body that administers the site.

AFPTV live footage showed the compound packed with worshippers.

“Hopefully they will not close Al-Aqsa again, and everyone will be able to come to this holy place —whether residents of Jerusalem or from the West Bank,” said 30-year-old Mohammad Saaedeh.

Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank remain subject to strict Israeli restrictions based on age and permit quotas.

“Friday prayer is an obligation for us, but performing it at Al-Aqsa is something entirely different,” said Sharif Mohammad, 39, referring to the site’s status as Islam’s third-holiest shrine.

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“It’s an indescribable feeling,” added Ahmad Ammar, 55.

Beyond the reopening of the holy sites in Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities have lifted most of the restrictions linked to the state of emergency over the war with Iran.

This excludes the country’s northern border area near Lebanon, where the war against Iran-backed Hezbollah continues.