More than 100,000 Muslim worshipers performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holy site’s Islamic authority reported, after it reopened the previous day following a truce agreed between the United States and Iran.

Jerusalem’s Old City is home to major holy sites for all three Abrahamic religions, which had been shuttered since the start of the war sparked by the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, amid safety restrictions as Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel, including at least two that landed in and around the Old City.

Restrictions had been in place prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people at all of the Old City’s holy sites, including Al‑Aqsa, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The sites reopened to worshipers on Thursday, a day after Washington and Tehran declared a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East war.

Muslim worshipers had been unable to access the Al-Aqsa even during the holy month of Ramadan this year.

On Friday, more than 100,000 Muslims performed the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa, according to the Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian body that administers the site.

Footage showed the compound packed with worshipers.

“Hopefully they will not close Al-Aqsa again, and everyone will be able to come to this holy place —whether residents of Jerusalem or from the West Bank,” said 30-year-old Mohammad Saaedeh.

Palestinians from the West Bank remain subject to strict Israeli restrictions based on age and permit quotas, largely in place since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.

“Friday prayer is an obligation for us, but performing it at Al-Aqsa is something entirely different,” said Sharif Mohammad, 39.

“It’s an indescribable feeling,” added Ahmad Ammar, 55.

The Temple Mount is revered by Jews as the historic location of the two Jewish Temples, making it Judaism’s holiest site. It is also the third-holiest for Muslims, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or the Noble Sanctuary. The site has been a frequent flashpoint for violence in the region.

Israel is also preparing for the Holy Fire ceremony slated for Saturday — an annual event observed by Orthodox Christians a day before Easter, which often attracts massive crowds to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Police said that they held meetings in recent weeks with Jerusalem’s Christian leaders, which “strengthened coordination with the various denominations” ahead of the event. They said they set a maximum capacity limit, but did not elaborate on how many people.

During hostilities with Iran, the Old City served as a focal point of controversy for Jews, Muslims and Christians, raising questions about the freedom to worship during times of war.

Earlier this week, before the ceasefire was called, Jewish religious leaders filed a petition in the High Court demanding that restrictions be eased on public gatherings at the Western Wall and Temple Mount.

Judges subsequently boosted the number of people permitted at the sites from 50 to 100.

In March, police sparked an international outcry after barring the Latin Patriarch from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday. Police later reached an agreement with the Latin Patriarchate allowing for limited Christian prayer at the site.

During the latter half of Ramadan, law enforcement shut Al-Aqsa Mosque due to the war, leading Muslims to pray en masse outside the Old City walls on Friday mornings. Police violently dispersed several of these gatherings, citing Home Front Command regulations.

Beyond the reopening of the holy sites in Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities have lifted most of the restrictions linked to the state of emergency over the war with Iran.

This excludes the country’s northern border area near Lebanon, where the war against Iran-backed Hezbollah continues.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 40-day Iran war explainerThe war in numbers: 650 Iranian missiles fired; 24 killed in Israel, West Bank; 10,800 Israeli strikes

2 With a switch of a letter in DNA ‘dark matter,’ Israeli scientists change sex of mouse

3 Israel says direct peace talks with Lebanon to begin ASAP, rejects calls for truce first

4 Netanyahu’s Likud takes hit in polls, which show most Israelis oppose Iran ceasefire

5 AnalysisAs ceasefire halts fighting, Iran war becomes a battlefield for votes

6 Hezbollah fires missile at southern port of Ashdod as IDF strikes launchers in Lebanon

7 Inside storyPakistan bridging proposal salvaged Iran talks before US deadline expired — officials

8 Iran says massive Israeli strikes in Lebanon render peace talks with US ‘meaningless’

Old City of Jerusalem

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

2026 US-Israel war with Iran

© The Times of Israel