Rocket fragments landed near holy sites in Jerusalem

Shrapnel from Iranian ballistic missiles and debris from Israeli fighter jets that intercepted them fell on Monday near Jerusalem’s Old City. Some fragments landed close to several of the holiest sites for Christians, Muslims and Jews.

According to available information, no casualties or major damage were reported at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or on the nearby esplanade known to Muslims as the al-Aqsa compound and to Jews as the Temple Mount. The area is among the most sensitive religious sites in Jerusalem.

Photographs released by police show officers removing a large metal fragment that was likely part of a projectile from a red-tiled roof near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is traditionally regarded as the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ and is one of Christianity’s most important pilgrimage destinations.

Additional footage shows a police cordon in a small area inside the al-Aqsa compound, where the Dome of the Rock also stands. Smaller fragments were scattered across the ground.

‘The Jerusalem District Police, bomb disposal teams and border police units have secured the sites and are currently working to eliminate any remaining risk to the public,’ police said in a statement.

(Reuters, Max)