Israel imposes restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque worshippers for 16th Friday in a row

JERUSALEM, PALESTINE - JANUARY 26: Israeli authorities barred Palestinians from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for the 16th consecutive Friday, Jan. 26. A large number of Israeli police personnel were deployed throughout the Old City of Jerusalem to restrict worshipers’ access to the mosque, witnesses told Anadolu. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound appeared empty due to the Israeli strict restrictions. Israeli police were deployed throughout East Jerusalem, setting up barriers at the entrances to the Old City and at the external gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque. For the 16th Friday in a row since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza on Oct. 7, the Israeli police are imposing severe restrictions that have prevented tens of thousands of people from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque to offer prayers. Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The Israeli response has killed 26,083 Palestinians and injured 64,487 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack. The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. (Footage by Mohammad Hamad/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)