"Around 80,000 worshippers gathered for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Friday, where Israeli forces implemented heightened security measures. Footage shows worshippers flocking to Jerusalem's Old City, where Israeli police and security personnel were positioned at entry points. Additional footage reveals worshippers taking part in prayer rituals at both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. "Thanks be to God who has blessed us on this sacred day in this holy month to visit Al-Aqsa after two years of complete closure," said one attendee, having traveled from Hebron in the southern West Bank. Palestinian media cited the Jerusalem governorate as saying that Israeli forces had barred thousands from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque, while also claiming that many more were turned away at the Qalandia checkpoint and Checkpoint 300. Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities stated that around 8,500 worshippers from the West Bank were granted access to Jerusalem for the Friday prayers. They added that 3,000 officers had been deployed to “ensure freedom of worship and maintain safe, orderly prayer gatherings.” Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023, Israel has imposed strict limits on the number of Muslim worshippers from the West Bank and Gaza allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan. Last year, entry was subject to restrictions imposed by Israeli forces, with only men aged 55 and above, women aged 50 and over, and children under the age of 13 accompanied by a relative permitted to pass. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is one of the holiest periods for Muslims, observed by fasting from dawn to sunset as a core tenet of the religion. "