Palestinian warning over Israeli calls to storm Al-Aqsa today

Palestinians sit on the ruins of a house demolished by Israeli security forces (AFP)

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs condemned on Wednesday the incitement calls launched by Israeli "Temple" organizations to mobilize the widest possible storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, and demanding permission to storm it at night following the so-called "Sovereignty March", which coincides with the anniversary of the so-called "Destruction of the Temple".

The ministry stressed in a press release reported by the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) that "these frantic calls and plans, which aim to bring in more than 5,000 colonists and impose new nightly incursions, represent a dangerous escalation and a blatant attempt to change the historical and legal status quo in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."

It stressed that "the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its total area of 144 dunums, is the exclusive right of Muslims alone, and is not subject to division or partnership, and the colonists' attempts to impose new facts will not grant it any legitimacy."

The ministry held "the occupation authorities fully responsible for the consequences of these provocations and providing cover for extremist ideas," calling on the Palestinian people and everyone who can reach the Al-Aqsa Mosque to "rally to it and ribat (stay steadfast) in its courtyards to thwart these plans."

It also called on the international community and Arab and Islamic countries to "urgently intervene to pressure the occupation and stop these violations that affect the sanctities of Muslims."

12 Palestinians killed

12 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, six of them from one family including four children, in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, according to the Civil Defense in Gaza.

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal announced to Agence France-Presse the death of "12 martyrs in the Gaza Strip today in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, including an entire family of six members, among them four children."

The agency announced in a statement that its crews were able to "retrieve 6 martyrs, who are a couple and their children, following the targeting of a house belonging to the Al-Masri family opposite the Chamber of Commerce on Al-Thalathini Street in the south of Gaza City at dawn today."

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza confirmed the arrival of the bodies and their identification, noting that four children were among them.

Later, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip announced "the arrival of two martyrs and several injuries in an Israeli airstrike on the city of Al-Zahraa, south of Gaza City."

The Civil Defense in Gaza also announced the death of "4 martyrs and a number of injured as a result of an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the vicinity of the General Service Hospital in the Al-Samar area in central Gaza City."

Hamas said in a statement that "the brutal raids carried out by the terrorist occupation army on the Al-Masri family home are a true embodiment of the brutality of the occupation, its abandonment of all human values, and its insistence on continuing the war of extermination against innocent civilians, and renouncing the ceasefire agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh under international auspices."

In response, an Israeli military official, when asked by Agence France-Presse about the targeting of the Al-Masri family, said: "A strike was carried out on a Hamas terrorist site in the area."

The Israeli army stated that it launched an "airstrike" on "a number of armed terrorists who were transporting weapons in a vehicle" in the southern Gaza Strip.

The strike led to the collapse of the house's roof and the outbreak of a fire in it, according to AFP correspondents.

At Al-Shifa Hospital, where the grieving relatives of the family gathered, the body of a little girl was placed in a white plastic bag, then placed on the ground next to the rest of the bodies wrapped in thick blankets.

Ahmed Al-Masri, the children's uncle, told AFP: "We were surprised by the bombing, the fire was spreading like wildfire, unfortunately my brother's family was completely wiped out from the civil registry, him, his wife and their four children."

The man, overcome with tears, added: "I was in the next room and I heard the children crying for help, save us, uncle, but I couldn't do anything, I was carrying my children and throwing them out the window."

Youssef Al-Masri, a family member, said: "At two in the morning, while we were sleeping, we heard a huge explosion, and we discovered that the house was bombed and caught fire."

Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating the ceasefire announced in October, two years after the outbreak of the war following an unprecedented attack launched by the movement against the Jewish state on October 7, 2023.

Israel continues its air and artillery bombardment almost regularly in the Strip, where it occupies more than 60% of its area, resulting in deaths, injuries, and further destruction amid a severe humanitarian crisis.

At least 1,168 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, according to the territory's Ministry of Health, whose information the United Nations considers reliable.

In contrast, the Israeli army announced the death of five soldiers and one civilian contractor during the same period.