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Mosque authorities say Israeli police entered before dawn after seven Palestinians had been killed since Wednesday.
Israeli police have raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, with medics saying at least 152 Palestinians were injured in the violence that ensued.
The Islamic Foundation, which runs the website, said Israeli police went into action before dawn on Friday, when thousands of worshipers had gathered at the mosque for early morning prayers.
Videos circulating online showed Palestinians throwing stones and police officers firing tear gas and flashbang grenades. Others showed worshipers barricading themselves inside the mosque amid clouds of tear gas.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance Service said it had evacuated the majority of the wounded to hospitals. The foundation said one of the guards at the scene was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
The Palestinian Red Crescent added that Israeli forces obstructed the arrival of ambulances and paramedics at the mosque, as Palestinian media said dozens of injured worshipers were trapped at the compound.
Israeli police said they arrested at least 300 Palestinians during the latest escalation.
Israeli police said they entered the compound, Islam’s third holiest site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, to disperse a “violent” crowd who stayed behind at the end of morning prayers.
Israeli security forces said they detained at least 300 Palestinians during the latest escalation [Hazem Bader/AFP]
They said they went inside “to disperse and push back the crowd” after a group of Palestinians began throwing rocks at the nearby Western Wall Jewish prayer site.
Reporting from the Damascus Gate, Al Jazeera’s Najwan al-Samri said Israeli police forces without pretext stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and attacked worshipers near the Qibly prayer hall after morning prayers.
She added that the escalation came as far-right Jewish groups called for raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and animal sacrifices in its courtyards during the Jewish Passover holiday, something that has not happened since ancient times.
Tensions have escalated in recent weeks. Israel has carried out arrests and military raids in the illegally occupied West Bank following a string of deadly attacks by Palestinians in Israel that have sparked clashes that have killed several Palestinians, including seven since Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians are expected to gather in Al-Aqsa for Friday afternoon prayers as Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan.
Weeks of protests and raids on Al-Aqsa during Ramadan last year escalated into an 11-day assault on the besieged Gaza Strip.
The war resulted in the deaths of at least 260 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, and extensive destruction of an already impoverished territory.
Ramadan coincides this year with the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Christian Holy Week, bringing thousands of pilgrims and other visitors to Jerusalem.
Far-right Jewish groups have called for raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]