Al Aqsa Reopening Overshadowed by Ben Gvir Provocation
The Chronify
Worshippers returned to Jerusalem’s holy sites this week after restrictions were lifted following the fragile ceasefire between Israel, Iran and the United States. More than 100,000 Muslims gathered for Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa compound, while Christian worshippers also returned to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ahead of Orthodox Easter observances.
The reopening was quickly overshadowed by a new visit from Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who entered the Al Aqsa compound under police protection and called for wider Jewish prayer access at the site. His remarks drew condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian officials, who said the move challenged the long standing status quo at one of the region’s most sensitive religious sites.
In Gaza, the broader regional ceasefire brought no halt to Israeli strikes. A nine year old student, Ritaj Rihan, was killed by Israeli fire while attending class in a tent school in Beit Lahiya, according to health and education officials. In a separate strike, journalist Mohammed Wishah was among four people killed in Gaza City. Another airstrike on a police checkpoint in Bureij killed at least six people, while further strikes pushed the death toll even higher over the weekend.
Mediators are still trying to move the Gaza ceasefire into a second phase, but the talks remain stalled over Hamas disarmament and the terms of a wider Israeli withdrawal. Reuters reported on April 13 that more than 750 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire took effect, according to local health officials, while four Israeli soldiers were killed in militant attacks during the same period.
The humanitarian picture remains severe. Medical evacuations through Rafah were disrupted after a World Health Organization contract worker was killed by Israeli fire, then partially resumed under a WHO led operation through the crossing on April 10.
In the occupied West Bank, Israel’s cabinet approved 34 new settlements, according to settlement monitors and multiple news reports, prompting fresh international criticism. The move came amid continued settler violence and rising Palestinian deaths. The Associated Press reported that 33 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank so far this year, with about two thirds of those deaths occurring during the recent Iran war period.
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