Israel's security minister has toured a courtyard of the Al-Aqsa mosque in a provocative move that could threaten ceasefire talks.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a tense holy site in Jerusalem's Old City.
Tensions at the site in occupied East Jerusalem have fueled previous rounds of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and Ben-Gvir's visit on Thursday threatens to disrupt delicate talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Israel's more than nine-month-old war on Gaza.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the visit as a “provocative intrusion” that endangers the fragile status quo of the Jerusalem complex.
The mosque is located in the Al-Aqsa complex, the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. The site is also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.
As things stand, non-Muslims are allowed to visit the site, but are not allowed to pray. However, Jewish visitors are increasingly defying the ban, which Palestinians see as provocation, fearing that Israel is seeking to take over the site.
Ben-Gvir said he went to the site to pray for the return of the Israeli captives “but without a reckless agreement, without surrender.”
Hamas called Ben-Gvir's action a “dangerous escalation” and called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to take “serious measures to stop these systemic violations” of the holy site.
Truce talks in jeopardy as Israel steps up offensive
Israeli negotiators landed in Cairo on Wednesday to continue truce talks, which appear to have stalled after a senior Hamas official said the group was pulling out of talks following recent Israeli attacks on Gaza but was willing to return if its attitude changes.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has accused Israel of deliberately undermining negotiations for a truce and a deal to release captives because it did not want to end the war.
Israel's military offensive in central Gaza continues to intensify, with 54 Palestinians killed in 24 hours, Palestinian officials said Thursday.
Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said the intensive Israeli bombing campaign in the centre of the enclave has left 500 people dead in the past 10 days.
“That's probably a conservative figure. If we take into account all the missing people, it's probably much higher,” he said.
“This morning, an entire family of three generations – grandparents, parents and their children – was murdered. This is the pattern of systematic mass killings that we have witnessed time and again,” Mahmoud said.
Netanyahu visits Rafah
As Israeli forces continued their attacks on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address the US Congress next week, paid a surprise visit to Israeli troops in the area around Rafah, telling them that military pressure combined with insistence on securing the release of dozens of captives still held in Gaza was producing results.
“This double pressure is not delaying the agreement, it is advancing it,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
Around 250 people were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
Israel's subsequent war on Gaza has killed at least 38,848 people and wounded another 89,459, according to Palestinian officials.
Israelis released from captivity in the Gaza Strip are planning a protest on Thursday against Netanyahu's trip to the United States.
They say they will issue a “special statement” in a Tel Aviv square where protesters demanding the release of captives and new elections have gathered since the start of the war.
