Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement on the visit of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to pray on the Temple Mount, stating: "The status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed." Earlier, Ben-Gvir's office stated that "the minister ascended the Temple Mount this morning in honor of the Hanukkah holiday, and offered a prayer for the peace of our soldiers, the return of the hostages, both the living and the dead, and a complete victory in the war."