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Israeli MFA: Iran targeting Jewish, Muslim, Christian holy sites in Jerusalem

“Israel remains committed to protecting these holy sites for all,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Israeli security and rescue forces at the site of damage caused by shrapnel following the interception of an Iranian missile above the Old City of Jerusalem, March 20, 2026. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
Israeli security and rescue forces at the site of damage caused by missile shrapnel following the interception of an Iranian missile attack in the Old City of Jerusalem, March 20, 2026. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused the Iranian regime of targeting Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.

“The Iranian regime fired missiles at Jerusalem, dreadfully close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall,” the ministry tweeted.

“While the Iranian terror regime targets the city sacred to billions around the world, Israel remains committed to protecting these holy sites for all,” added the MFA.

On Feb. 28, the first day of the war, an Iranian warhead impacted “just a few hundred meters” from the Old City. The bomb was neutralized by bomb-disposal teams of the Israel Police, “who transferred it for further examination at explosives laboratories.”

Last week, an Iranian-launched missile exploded over Israel’s capital, with debris falling on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter and the Temple Mount near the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Missile fragments damaged the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem is headquartered.

The Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command instituted an across-the-board ban on all public gatherings of more than 50 people due to security concerns following the outbreak of the fighting with Tehran, leaving all holy sites closed.

Lt. Dean Elsdunne, the Israel Police’s international spokesperson, explained in an Instagram post on March 13 that “an area such as the Temple Mount complex has no proper shelter for ballistic missiles—definitely not for tens of thousands of people.”

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