SRINAGAR: The Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem was reopened to Muslim worshippers on Thursday after a 40-day closure imposed by Israel amid joint US-Israeli military actions against Iran, Roya News reported.
The First Fajr Call to Prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque After 40 Days of Closure
The Fajr adhan was raised at Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time after 40 days of closure imposed on worshippers by the Israeli occupation. pic.twitter.com/6NYOD8Jpls
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 9, 2026
The mosque, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, was reopened at dawn, allowing hundreds of Palestinian Muslims to enter the Al-Haram al-Sharif.
According to Anadolu Agency, as the gates opened with the morning call to prayer, large crowds of worshippers gathered at the site. Many were seen in tears, offering prostrations of gratitude in the mosque’s courtyards. Hundreds lined up to perform the dawn prayer, marking the first congregational worship at the site since its closure.
Israel had fully shut access to the mosque on February 28, coinciding with its military actions against Iran. During the closure, only mosque staff and officials of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf were allowed to pray inside, while other Palestinians were forced to offer prayers in smaller mosques across the city.
Authorities also barred Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at the site this year, marking the first such restriction since the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.
During the same period, Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest sites, as part of broader security measures.
The Israeli government had extended a state of emergency until mid-April but did not specify whether restrictions on the mosque would continue for the entire duration.
