A senior imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem said on Tuesday that Israeli authorities have barred him from entering the compound, just days before the start of the holy month of Ramazan. "I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed," Sheikh Muhammad al Abbasi told AFP.

Ramadan in Jerusalem is "otherworldly", he says. However, this year the walls of the Old City are empty and festivities are strikingly muted. Israel has banned Ramadan decorations and restricted various other traditional ways of celebrating the Islamic holy month.

The Great Omari Mosque in Gaza City was hit by an Israeli strike during the war with Hamas. It is one of dozens of heritage sites that were damaged or destroyed during the war.