Some 140,000 Muslim worshippers have filled the courtyards and prayer halls of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, the first day of the four-day Eid al-Adha, to perform Eid prayers.
"The number of worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque for this year's Eid al-Adha prayers was estimated at 140,000," the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said on Wednesday.
A heavy police presence was observed in the Old City of East Jerusalem, in its alleyways and at the outer gates of the mosque.
Eid-al-Adha commemorates the readiness of Prophet Ibrahim -- also known as Abraham to Christians and Jews -- to sacrifice his son on God’s command.
On this day, Muslims sacrifice animals in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice, and the meat is distributed among the poor in the community.
War, blockade, ongoing Israeli military escalation
This year’s Eid al-Adha comes as thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza continue to mark the holiday amid war, blockade, and ongoing Israeli military escalation.
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, the West Bank has witnessed an escalation in attacks by the army and the occupiers, particularly in rural and Bedouin areas near settlements and outposts.
The Israeli army has killed around 1,200 Palestinians, injured over 12,600 others, and displaced 33,000 in the West Bank, according to figures published by the Palestinian government media office on Monday.
The main raid focused on Dura, south of Hebron, where witnesses told Anadolu agency that Israeli military vehicles entered the town centre amid heavy crowds before troops spread across streets, fired tear gas canisters and forced shop owners to shut their stores.
The assaults came as the Israeli military continued escalating attacks in the occupied West Bank, including killings, arrests and raids on cities and towns involving home searches and destruction of property since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
