JERUSALEM — In the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, about 90,000 Palestinians prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City under tight security by Israeli forces.

Thousands made their way from the West Bank into Jerusalem after Israel allowed men over 55 and women over 50 to enter from the occupied territory for the prayers. Tensions have risen in the West Bank in the past weeks amid Israeli raids on militants. There was no immediate sign of frictions in Jerusalem on Friday.

However, Palestinian authorities said Israeli soldiers had stormed eight mosques around the city of Nablus, in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In a statement posted to X, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli operations set fire to “large sections” of the Al-Nasr mosque in the old city of Nablus, posting a photo of the interior of the mosque, where walls appeared blackened. The mosque used to be a Byzantine church.

Asked for comment, the military said it was “not aware” of any fire set by soldiers at the site.

For many Palestinians, Friday marked their first opportunity to enter Jerusalem since last Ramadan about a year ago, when Israel also let in worshippers under similar restrictions.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, the Israeli government blocked Palestinians in the West Bank from crossing to Jerusalem or visiting Israel. Cuts to USAID by the Trump administration have also set back aid groups operating in Gaza.

Last Ramadan, the war was raging, but this time, a fragile ceasefire is in place since mid-January — though its future is uncertain. Since Sunday, Israel has barred all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies from entering Gaza for some 2 million people, demanding Hamas accept a revised deal.

In Gaza, thousands gathered for the Friday communal prayers in the shattered concrete husk of Gaza City’s Imam Shafi’i Mosque, heavily damaged by Israeli forces during fighting. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset as a sign of humility, submission to God and sympathy for the poor and hungry.

On Thursday evening, Palestinians strung festive Ramadan lights around the rubble of destroyed buildings surrounding their tent camp in Gaza City and set up long communal tables for hundreds of people where aid groups served up iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast.

At Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Nafez Abu Saker said he left his home in the village of Aqraba in the northern West Bank at 7 a.m., taking three hours to make the 20-mile trip through Israeli checkpoints to reach Jerusalem. “If the people from the West Bank will be permitted to come, people from all the cities, villages and camps will come to Al-Aqsa to pray,” he said.

“The reward of prayer here is like 500 prayers — despite the difficulty of the road to get here. It brings a great reward from God,” said Ezat Abu Laqia, also from Aqraba.

The faithful formed rows to listen to the Friday sermon and kneel in prayer at the foot of the golden Dome of the Rock on the sprawling mosque compound. The Islamic Trust, which oversees the Al-Aqsa compound, said 90,000 attended the prayers. The Israeli police said it deployed thousands of additional officers around the area.

The compound, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, and the surrounding area of Jerusalem’s Old City have been the site of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in the past. The Old City is part of east Jerusalem, captured by Israel along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast War. Israel has since annexed the sector, though Palestinians seek it and the territories for an independent state.

Thousands of Palestinians coming from the West Bank lined up at the Qalandia checkpoint on the edge of Jerusalem to attend the prayers. But some were turned away, either because they didn’t have the proper permits or because the checkpoint closed.

Israeli police said authorities had approved the entry of 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank, but did not say how many made it into Jerusalem.