Calm returned to the Temple Mount after violent clashes took place at night between Palestinian worshipers and the Israeli police , who arrested hundreds of them, following the storming of the courtyard by Jews on the eve of Easter, which they celebrate on Wednesday.

These confrontations came in an atmosphere of increasing tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians, especially during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims usually retreat to Al-Aqsa Mosque and perform night prayers there.

The Israeli police raid on the Temple Mount sparked a series of condemnations, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that his country was "committed to the status quo."

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip , called the move an "unprecedented crime."

Ismail Haniyeh , head of the movement's political bureau, called on the Palestinians to go to Jerusalem in order to "protect" Al-Aqsa Mosque.

As for Ziyad Al-Nakhala , Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, he saw that "what is happening in the mosque ... constitutes a serious threat to our sanctities."

The Palestinian presidency also warned "the Israeli occupation against crossing the red lines in the holy places," noting that this would lead to a "big explosion," as stated in a statement broadcast by the official news agency (Wafa).

The Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization , Hussein al-Sheikh, said that the "barbarity" in the "attack on worshipers" calls for "Palestinian, Arab and international action and putting everyone before their responsibilities to protect the sanctities and worshipers from the oppression of the occupation."

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned "the Israeli occupation police's storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Qudsi Al-Sharif and assaulting it and those who are in it," considering what happened as "a flagrant violation and a condemned and unacceptable act."

In a statement, it called on "Israel to remove the police and special forces from the Temple Mount immediately," warning of "this dangerous escalation."

The Islamic Endowments Council denounced the "brutal attack on those in i'tikaf" and called on "all Muslims... to rebuild the mosque by praying, worshiping and reading the Qur'an."

The council stressed that the mosque "has not and will not be closed to those who are in i'tikaaf."

For its part, the Israeli police announced on Wednesday morning that it had arrested "more than 350" people on the Temple Mount. However, Firas al-Jabrini, a member of the lawyers' team on behalf of the detainees, confirmed that the number of detainees ranges between 450 and 500 people.

Al-Jabrini confirmed that many of them were injured, most of them in the upper part of the body, especially in the head and eyes, while the Palestine Red Crescent Ambulance Society stated that its teams dealt with "25 injuries from those who were released" and "two of them were transferred to the hospital."

Al-Jabrini explained that "an unspecified number of them were released on the conditions of being removed from the mosque and the old town and appearing for investigation upon summons."

The same lawyer also confirmed the extension of the detention of "18 (Palestinian) detainees who hold an Israeli ID until they are brought to court, in addition to those who hold a Palestinian ID."

The Islamic Endowment Office said that calm has returned to the Temple Mount.

The Palestinians refuse the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount and pray there, and consider these "incursions" as a provocation to them.

In a statement, Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Israel is committed to preserving "freedom of worship and free access (to mosque) for all faiths (...) and will not allow violent extremists to change this."

According to Netanyahu, there are "Israeli measures to preserve the status quo and calm people."

The Israeli Minister of Internal Security , Itamar Ben Gvir, praised the police for their "quick and firm action," accusing the worshipers, who were expelled from the mosque, of intending to "harm and kill policemen and harm Israeli citizens."

The Israeli police published video clips showing explosions apparently caused by firecrackers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, shadows of people throwing stones, and riot police advancing inside the mosque while they were sheltering from the explosives with protective shields.

The scenes also showed a fortified door and quantities of firecrackers on a carpet on the ground, while police officers led at least five people handcuffed.

A statement by the Israeli police said, "Several youths, among the outlaws and rioters, masked, entered the (Al-Aqsa) mosque with explosives, clubs and stones."

He added that "they barricaded themselves for several hours (...) to harm public security and destroy the mosque," while chanting "slogans inciting hatred and violence."

In response to the police storming the mosque, several rockets were fired from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel, according to Palestinian security sources and AFP correspondents.

"Five rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli areas, and all of them were intercepted by the air defense system," the Israeli army said in a statement.

Later, Israeli warplanes launched raids on the Gaza Strip.

And renewed rocket fire from the Gaza Strip after the Israeli raids, while the Israeli warplanes launched raids again at around 06:15 (03:15 GMT). No Palestinian faction has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire so far.

The raids did not result in any casualties, according to medical sources.

But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "We will strike anyone who tries to harm us."

"We will pay him a heavy price, and we will make him regret threatening Israeli citizens or army forces," he added during his visit to the Iron Dome battery site in the south.

The White House expressed its "grave concern" about the violence in the Temple Mount in occupied East Jerusalem, and "urged all parties to avoid further escalation," a spokesperson said Wednesday.

Likewise, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his "shock" and "astonishment" at the level of violence used by the Israeli security forces against Palestinian worshipers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday night.

"The Secretary-General is shocked and stunned by the scenes he saw this morning of violence and beatings by Israeli security forces inside the Al-Qibli Mosque in Jerusalem, which took place during a period sacred to both Jews, Christians and Muslims, a period that should be of peace and non-violence," Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. .

The League of Arab States warned Wednesday of "a spiral of violence that threatens stability in the region and the world." The League, whose council met in Cairo on Wednesday at Jordan's request, rejected "attempts aimed at changing the existing historical and legal status of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and dividing it temporally and spatially."

The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Kingdom, which has close relations with Israel, stresses "the need to respect the legal, religious and historical situation in Jerusalem and the holy places, and to refrain from practices and violations that would destroy all chances of peace in the region."

The statement renewed the expression of "the Kingdom of Morocco's rejection of such practices, which will only increase the complexity and tension of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories," noting that King Mohammed VI chairs the Jerusalem Committee concerned with preserving the Islamic character of the city.

Violence has escalated since the beginning of this year between Palestinians and Israelis, after a government considered one of the most right-wing in the country's history came to power in Israel.

Since the beginning of the year, the violence has resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, most of them from the Palestinian side.