Israeli planes struck Gaza early on Wednesday, following rocket fire from the enclave toward Israel and hours after Palestinians staged violent riots with security forces on Temple Mount.
Hamas Radio said the Israeli strikes hit two training camps, one in Gaza City and another in a refugee camp.
Police entered Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound before dawn on Wednesday and clashed with worshippers, in what police said was a response to rioting that set off a furious reaction across the West Bank and cross-border strikes in Gaza.
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The incident, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, came amid fears that tensions built up during a year of escalating violence could be unleashed at the Al-Aqsa mosque, where clashes in 2021 set off a 10-day war with Gaza.
Overnight, at least nine rockets were fired from Gaza, prompting air strikes from Israel, which struck what it said were Hamas training camps, setting off ground-shaking explosions that were heard across the blockaded coastal strip.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks also shelled Hamas positions along the border fence in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said 12 Palestinians sustained wounds from rubber-tipped bullets and beatings in clashes with Israeli police. It added that Israeli forces were preventing its medics from reaching the area.
The police said in a statement that security units were forced to enter the compound after what it called 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.
Thousands of worshippers have been spending the night in the mosque compound, amid fears of possible clashes with Jewish visitors to the site, which they revere as the Temple Mount, the site of Judaism's two ancient Temples.
Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed fireworks going off and police beating people inside the mosque. Palestinian lawyer Firas al-Jibrini said police arrested around 500 people who were taken for questioning. The incident drew a sharp reaction from Arab countries. Jordan and Egypt, both involved in recent US-backed efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, issued separate statements strongly condemning the incident, while Saudi Arabia, with whom Israel hopes to normalize ties, said Israel's "storming" of Al-Aqsa undermined peace efforts.
The Palestinian leadership condemned Israel's attacks on 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.
The Israeli military said a soldier was shot and wounded during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank town of Beit Ummar.
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