Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, the director-general of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, told Anadolu that the number is considered lower than usual for this time of Ramadan, as the number was estimated to be around 250,000 on the same day last year.

The spokesman of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has condemned the latest Israeli settlers’ defiling of al-Aqsa Mosque.

Head of the committee, Ramzi Khoury, called for the concerned bodies to increase their efforts to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque which “is facing an existential danger targeting its legal, historical and religious status,” stressing that Jerusalem “is an occupied Palestinian city.”

​​​​​​​According to Islamic Waqf, settlers performed Talmudic rituals after they broke into the holy Islamic sites from Bab al-Maghariba.

Sources said that Israeli soldiers stationed along the Gaza borderlines attacked protesters with live ammunition and tear gas canisters, shooting and injuring one person, which necessitated his transfer to hospital for medical treatment.

In the early hours of this morning, Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem along with over 340 extremist Jewish settlers – some reports put the number at around 1,600 – under the protection of Israeli security forces.

Patriarch Theophilos III said in press a statement that "the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the exclusive property of Muslims alone,” affirming the role and right of Jordan as guardian over the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem.

Witnesses told WAFA that scores of Israeli settlers led by Glick entered the compound in groups and performed rituals there under the protection of Israeli police officers.

Such 'inflammatory and fascistic actions' by Israeli ministers are 'in no way acceptable,' says Turkish Foreign Ministry

Ambassador Sinan Al-Majali, spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, described Ben-Gvir’s incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque as “a provocative, condemned, dangerous and unacceptable escalation, and represents a flagrant violation of international law, and of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites.”

This is the second time the hawkish Israeli minister enters the Islamic holy site since he became a cabinet minister.

The protesters also denounced the silence of the U.S. administration over on the Israeli atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.

Israeli police guard settlers during raid in occupied East Jerusalem

The rights watchdog said it "highly doubt the Israeli police's version of the incident" and called for an independent investigation "outside of the Police Internal Investigation Division" which is known for closing files and granting immunity to security personnel who commit crimes, especially against Palestinians.

Israeli forces not harmed in incident, says police

"About 250,000 worshipers offered Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque," Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, head of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, told Anadolu.

​​​​​​​The Council is expected to convene on Thursday, diplomats said.

​​​​​​​In a statement late on Tuesday, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry described any desecration of the sacred sites in occupied Palestine, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, as an example of the violation of international laws and an insult to the values and sanctities of the Muslims in the world that will receive the reaction ...

The Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, in charge of the holy site, said scores of Israeli settlers entered the compound in groups and performed rituals and Talmudic prayers there under the protection of Israeli police officers.

WAFA correspondent said scores of Israeli settlers entered the holy site through the Moroccan Gate in groups and performed rituals and Talmudic prayers there under the protection of Israeli police officers.