Israel rocket sirens sound amid clashes at al-Aqsa mosque

Sirens warning of possible incoming rockets sounded in areas around Gaza soon after Israeli police clashed with dozens of worshippers in Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound, in what Israeli police said was a response to rioting.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that seven people were injured, and in a statement said that Israeli forces had prevented its medics from reaching the mosque.

Israeli police said in a statement that it was forced to enter the compound after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks and stones.

“When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the statement said, adding that a police officer was wounded in the leg.

Egypt’s foreign ministry released a statement urging a halt to Israel’s “blatant assault” on worshippers in the mosque.

“I was sitting on a chair reciting [the Qur’an],” an elderly woman told the Reuters news agency, while sitting outside the mosque, struggling to catch her breath. “They [the police] hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,” she said as she began to cry.

In Gaza, Hamas and Islamic Jihad called for Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel to gather around al-Aqsa mosque and confront Israeli forces.

Violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem has surged over the past year, with concerns that tensions could escalate this month, when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincides with Judaism’s Passover and Christian Easter.

Friction at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, has set off violence in recent years.

Palestinian groups condemned Israel’s clashes with worshippers, which they described as a crime.

“We warn the occupation against crossing red lines at holy sites, which will lead to a big explosion,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned the al-Aqsa clashes, while Egypt called for an immediate halt to Israel’s “blatant assault on worshippers”.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report