Children played in the snow today after blizzards hit Jerusalem, covering the ground in fresh white powder.

Footage shows men using shovels to clear the rare snowfall and ice from outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Locals were also seen waving the Palestinian flag while the snow fell over the Damascus Gate.

Schools were closed and several roads were shut down, cutting the city off from the rest of the country. Officials said that 250 snow plows deployed and nearly 150 tons of salt spread over roads as staff worked through the night.

Jerusalem was last hit by a heavy snowstorm in 2013. Snow fell for three days causing power outages that left tens of thousands cut off from electricity and heating.