Eid al-Adha Prayer at Al-Aqsa Overshadowed by Israeli Attacks on Gaza

The occupied Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem was filled with worshippers on the first day of Eid al-Adha. Thousands of Muslims performed the Eid prayer at the complex amid ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. This year’s Eid al-Adha celebrations took place against a backdrop of continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement in place since October 2025. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 880 people have been killed and more than 2,645 injured in Israeli attacks since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was announced on 10 October. The agreement was intended to halt Israel’s war, which has already claimed over 72,000 lives, mostly women and children, with more than 172,000 injured and approximately 90% of civilian infrastructure damaged since October 2023. Meanwhile, the Israeli military recently claimed to have killed Mohammed Awda in a Gaza Strip attack, accusing him of being appointed as the new commander of Hamas’s armed wing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz also stated that Israeli forces targeted Awda in an airstrike in Gaza City. The claims followed massive Israeli bombings that struck densely populated areas in central Gaza City on Eid al-Adha night, which killed a Palestinian woman and injured others, according to medical sources.