Key features of Hajj 2023 – what’s new?

News Network
June 26, 2023

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Jeddah, June 26: Saudi Arabia has developed and introduced several services for the first time for the pilgrims participating in Hajj 2023 to help them perform the rituals with ease and comfort.

Hajj services offered this season were distinguished for keeping pace with the developments taking place in the world that enhance the facilitation of life, such as artificial intelligence and others.

The most awaited announcement by Muslims around the world this season was the lifting of restrictions imposed three years ago to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an announcement earlier, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah revealed that the Hajj this year 2023 would be without conditions or restrictions.

"Saudi Arabia will welcome pilgrims to perform Hajj this year in the same numbers as before the COVID pandemic," Dr. Al-Rabiah confirmed.

Following the lifting of restrictions, Saudi Arabia announced that it would receive more than 2 million Hajj pilgrims from 160 countries. The number of Umrah performers this year increased by 30% compared to 1440 AH.

Moreover, this year the Kingdom allowed Hajj missions from around the world to make contracts with any authorized company of their choice to provide pilgrimage services in Saudi Arabia.

The cost of insurance for Hajj pilgrims has witnessed a 73 percent drop this year. The price of insurance for Hajj pilgrims was reduced from SR109 to SR29 while that of Umrah was reduced from SR235 to SR88, or 63 percent.

The Hajj season this year 1444 AH witnessed a major shift in terms of expanding services. Some of these services were announced for the first time this season. The announcement of these services, including the easy payment options for Hajj packages, contributed greatly to facilitating the pilgrimage.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in January that domestic pilgrims have the option of paying the Hajj package costs in three installments, instead of paying the full amount in one go as was the case during previous years.

The Makkah Route Initiative, one of the Interior Ministry's projects that aim to provide high-quality services in Hajj which helped the pilgrims complete their immigration procedures from their countries of origin easily, was expanded to countries such as Turkey and Ivory Coast. The initiative, launched in 2019 for the first time, now operates in seven countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh besides Turkey and Ivory Coast.

In order to serve the pilgrims and meet all their needs, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has provided a system of services in Hajj this year with a cadre that is the highest and largest in its history. The total workforce in the Two Holy Mosques reached 14,000 fully qualified male and female employees.

Saudi Arabia did not stop training Hajj cadres inside the Kingdom this year but expanded the training program to also include, for the first time, foreign volunteers in their country. A training course was held to qualify workers to serve pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia during the Hajj before they start from their countries.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, represented by the center for licensing and training workers who serve pilgrims and Umrah performers, has trained leaders of pilgrims groups in their own countries before the start of the Hajj season, which also includes a detailed explanation of the pilgrims’ journey.

Preparations for receiving pilgrims this season did include not only technology and training but also ways to preserve religious rituals and sanctities from being exploited, as well as protecting the rights of pilgrims guaranteed by the law. Accordingly, the Attorney General and Chairman of the Public Prosecution Council Sheikh Saud Bin Abdullah Al-Mujab has inaugurated the Hajj and Umrah Prosecution next to the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Al-Mujab stressed the importance of immediately closing the criminal cases referred to the Hajj and Umrah Prosecution, taking into account the protected rights due to quick termination of cases.

Additionally, Al-Mujab stressed the need to activate measures to encourage behaviors that would not affect the serenity of Hajj or Umrah, and would not prejudice national security or the sanctity of the holy sites, in accordance with the law.

Al-Mujab emphasized the sanctity of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, pointing out the exploitation of religious rites or holy sites is considered among the crimes that require the Public Prosecution to impose the most severe penalties against the accused.

Environmental factors also witnessed new developments in services this year. The National Center for Environmental Compliance confirmed the readiness of national cadres and advanced technologies that will ensure the quality of air, soil and water for pilgrims in Makkah, the holy sites, Madinah, airports and highways.

The center confirmed that 1,350 inspection visits will be conducted this season at all Hajj-related sites, in order to ensure air quality, protect and monitor water sources, and preserve soil from pollution.

For the first time this season, noise levels will be monitored and controlled to maintain and ensure a quiet and comfortable environment for pilgrims during the Hajj period.

The pilgrims will enjoy this year’s Hajj with several transportation options that ensure facilitating their movement within the holy sites. The Transport General Authority (TGA) provided 1,000 electric scooters as a service to Hajj pilgrims to facilitate their movement in the holy sites.

The authority has allocated a specific track for the e-scooters, separating them from other vehicles and pedestrians to preserve the safety of pilgrims. The track consists of two lanes back and forth, with a length of 2 km, starting from Kadana station and ending with the Mahbas Al-Jin tunnel, which leads to Bab Ali station in the Grand Mosque.

TGA has also launched, for the first time, a trial run of self-driving electric buses to serve the pilgrims this season, as it aims to provide innovative modern technologies for sustainable and environment-friendly transportation.

The self-driving buses utilize artificial intelligence, cameras, and surrounding sensors to operate without human intervention along a predefined route. They gather information during movement and analyze it to make necessary decisions, aiming to enhance passenger experience and ensure safety. Each bus has 11 seats, operates for 6 hours per charge, and can reach speeds of up to 30 km/h.

Saudi Arabia pays great attention to delivering information to pilgrims of different nationalities who speak different languages. And from this standpoint, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced the launch of 185 programs and initiatives that were presented during this year’s Hajj season in the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah.

The programs aim to invest in artificial intelligence, digitizing programs, and harnessing electronic applications in various fields to serve pilgrims and talk to them in foreign languages to facilitate Hajj rituals for them.

To enrich people's Hajj experience, the General Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques prepared, for the first time in its history, 20 different and varied exhibitions this year.

The holding of exhibitions has been diversified. Some of them are inside the Grand Mosque, while some others are mobile exhibitions touring the holy sites. Some others are in Makkah and Jeddah. The exhibition are held with the aim of providing an opportunity for the largest possible number of visitors and pilgrims to see the history and stages of development of the Two Holy Mosques, which also reflects Saudi Arabia’s vision in developing services in Hajj seasons over the years.

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News Network
April 4,2025

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Israel has announced the launch of a new ground onslaught in Gaza City, with rescuers saying military aggression has killed at least 30 people across the Palestinian territory since dawn.

In Gaza City, the Israeli military said ground troops had begun pushing into the Shejaiya neighborhood to expand the so-called "security zone" there, claiming that civilians had been allowed to evacuate the area. 

Initial reports, however, said a Palestinian woman and her daughter were just killed in an Israeli artillery shelling on displaced people in Shejaiya.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli military aggression had killed at least 30 people in the Palestinian territory since dawn, adding that the toll was "not final".

A single Israeli strike on Khan Yunis killed at least 25 people, a medical source at the southern city's Nasser Hospital said. 

"The situation is very dangerous, and there is death coming at us from every direction," Elena Halas told AFP reportedly via text message, adding that she and her family were trapped in her sister's house in Shejaiya.

Israel has pushed since the collapse of a short-lived truce in the war to seize territory in Gaza. Simultaneously, it has escalated attacks on Lebanon and Syria, with a strike in the south Lebanese city of Sidon killing a Hamas commander along with his son on Friday. 

Minister of military affairs Israel Katz had said on Wednesday that Israel would bolster its military presence inside the Gaza Strip to "seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones", without specifying how much territory.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was dividing Gaza and "seizing territory" to force Hamas to free the remaining captives seized in the October 2023 operation inside southern settlements. 

Netanyahu has said his regime is working closely with the US to implement President Donald Trump's plan to displace Gazans.

Latest air raids have targeted Gaza City, as well as Beit Lahia, Rafah, and Khan Yunis, killing dozens of people and injuring several others.

On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah. 

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded territory, Israeli forces pushed into the city on Gaza's southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Thursday that 112 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes, with at least 70 of those deaths taking place in Gaza City, in the north of the strip. 

Gaza's civil defense agency said women and children were among the dead, while six people were still unaccounted for in the strike on Dar al-Arqam School in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City, including a pregnant woman who was expecting twins. 

Beit Hanoun Mayor Mohammad Nazek Al-Kafarna was one of the victims of the Israeli strike that hit the school on Thursday.

The Health Ministry said on Thursday that 1,163 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed intense bombing on March 18, bringing the overall death toll since the war began to 50,523.

The usurping entity accepted longstanding negotiation terms by the Hamas resistance group under a Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19.

On March 18, however, Israel unilaterally broke the truce and resumed its relentless bombing of Gaza.

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News Network
March 28,2025

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Millions of people across Iran and the world took to the streets on International Quds Day, expressing solidarity with Palestinians and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and head of the Intifada Committee in Tehran, stated that rallies began at 10:00 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) in over 900 cities across Iran.

Demonstrators from various walks of life carried Iranian and Palestinian flags, as well as banners reading “Free Palestine” and “Al-Quds Must Be Liberated.” Flags of regional resistance groups, including Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd al-Sha'abi), Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Ansarullah, were also displayed.

Mass rallies were held across West Asia, including in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, as well as in other parts of the world.

Iranian Leaders Condemn Western Stance

Senior Iranian officials participated in the rally in Tehran, where Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf addressed the gathering.

“Iranians have taken to the streets in a massive show of support for Palestine and the Islamic Ummah,” Qalibaf said. “The Palestinian struggle is not just an issue for the Islamic world but a lesson for all of humanity.”

He criticized the West’s response to Israeli actions in Gaza, calling it a stain on Western civilization. “These crimes will be remembered as a lasting ignominy, exposing the West’s duplicity in human rights advocacy,” he added.

Qalibaf also defended the October 7, 2023, Palestinian attack on Israeli-occupied territories, describing Operation al-Aqsa Flood as a “rightful and legitimate response to 77 years of oppression by Israel, the U.S., and Britain.” He further described Israel as a “spare regime” dependent on U.S. support.

Quds Day: A Global Symbol of Resistance

Al-Quds Day, observed annually on the last Friday of Ramadan, was established in 1979 by the late Imam Khomeini to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and oppose Israeli occupation. The event has since become a symbol of resistance, with large rallies held worldwide, particularly amid Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

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Agencies
March 26,2025

The airstrikes led by the United States have killed at least 25 civilians in Yemen over the past week, marking the deadliest week of bombing on the country since the final months of the Washington-backed Saudi war in January 2022.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Yemen Data Project said the 25 civilians were the victims of 38 US-led aerial assaults on March 15-21, adding that 28 people were also injured in the attacks.

The independent tracker also said that 21 out of the 38 US air raids hit non-military, civilian targets.

“Civilian targets hit included: a medical storage facility, a medical center, a school, a wedding hall, residential areas, a cotton gin facility, a health office, Bedouin tents, and Al-Eiman University,” it said.

The deadliest US strike in the first week of US bombing campaign struck a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern Sa'ada province, killing 10 civilians and wounding 11 others, among them children.

The US began bombing Yemen on March 15, a few days after Yemen resumed its operation against Israeli-linked ships in response to Israel’s Gaza aid blockade that violated a ceasefire with the Hamas resistance group.

The Yemeni Armed Forces began their anti-Israel naval campaign in November 2023, a month after the occupying regime waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The Yemeni forces halted their attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in January, when Israel accepted a three-phase Gaza ceasefire.

Two months later, however, Israel unilaterally broke the Gaza truce and resumed its brutal onslaught on the besieged territory.

On Tuesday, Yemeni media reported 17 US strikes on Sa'ada and two more on the nearby 'Amran province.

The reports said American warplanes carried out "aggressive air raids... causing material damage to citizens' property," but gave no details of casualties.

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