Beirut, Nov 22: At least 14 pro-Iran militia fighters, mostly Iraqis, were killed in air strikes in war-torn eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday.
The strikes on Saturday night in Deir Ezzor province, on the border with Iraq, were likely carried out by Israeli war planes, the Observatory said. There was no immediate reaction from Israel.
Jeddah: In a significant step towards strengthening bilateral ties and religious collaboration, Saudi Arabia and India signed the 2025 Hajj agreement during a ceremony in Jeddah.
The agreement was formalized by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Tawfiq F. Al-Rabiah, and India’s Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju. The event was attended by key dignitaries, including the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan, and the Consul General of India in Jeddah, Fahad Ahmed Khan Suri.
Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia has allocated a quota of 175,025 pilgrims from India for the 2025 Hajj season. Of this, 70% of the slots will be managed by the Hajj Committee of India, while the remaining 30% (approximately 52,507 slots) will be facilitated by private Hajj Group Organizers in line with India’s Haj Policy 2025.
The agreement emphasizes improving the overall pilgrimage experience for Indian Hajjis, focusing on enhanced services, expanded facilities, and streamlined logistical arrangements.
Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed the Indian government’s commitment to providing the best possible services to pilgrims. “Our government is dedicated to ensuring an improved and hassle-free pilgrimage experience for all our Hajjis,” he stated. He also thanked Saudi authorities for their cooperation and support.
During his visit, Minister Rijiju met with Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, to discuss interfaith dialogue and global peace initiatives. He acknowledged Dr. Al-Issa’s impactful visit to India and praised his efforts in promoting harmony.
The minister also visited the Jeddah Hajj Terminal to inspect and review the arrangements and preparations for Hajj 2025. This visit underscored the commitment to ensuring a seamless and enhanced pilgrimage experience for Indian Hajjis through meticulous planning and improved facilities.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the agreement, describing it as “wonderful news” for Indian Hajis. In a post on X, he reiterated his government’s unwavering commitment to improving the pilgrimage experience for devotees.
(Inputs from Dr P A Hameed Padubidri, Riyadh)
Despite the announcement of a ceasefire deal, Israel has intensified its airstrikes and artillery shelling on Gaza, especially its residential buildings, killing more than 100 Palestinians.
Gaza’s civil defense said on Friday at least 101 Palestinians, including 27 children and 31 women, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday.
The attacks have also left more than 264 injured, according to the rescue agency.
Most of the killings came in Gaza City.
The report comes as Israeli attacks have shown no sign of slowing on the ground, with dozens of strikes reported on Friday.
In northern Gaza’s Jabalia, nine members of a Palestinian journalist’s family, including women and children, were killed.
Two more Palestinians were killed in a separate Israel airstrike in the Jabalia al-Balad area, in the north of Gaza.
Jabalia has come under fierce attack since the Gaza ceasefire announcement this week. On Thursday, at least 20 were killed in one attack in the area.
At least five others were also killed in another attack that targeted a home, east of Khan Younis City, in Southern Gaza on Friday.
To the west of Khan Younis, three people were killed in attacks on tents housing displaced people.
Another tent was targeted in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, killing one person.
That's while Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene his cabinet later on Friday to approve the long-awaited ceasefire.
Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 46,788 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 110,453 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.
The ceasefire, announced on Wednesday, consists of three phases and would come into effect on Sunday over 42 days.
The truce deal stipulates that a large-scale prisoner exchange will occur, including the release of 1,000 prisoners from Gaza and hundreds of detainees serving lengthy sentences.
The first stage involves the release of 33 captives, including "children, women, female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick," as well as a gradual, partial withdrawal of invading Israeli units.
Another Palestinian journalist has been killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip, taking the death toll to 205 since early October 2023 when the occupying Tel Aviv regime launched its all-out onslaught against the blockaded coastal sliver.
Local organizations identified the new victim as Ahlam al-Nafed, who recently reported from the besieged Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza for Drop Site News and other media outlets.
She was killed on Tuesday as she was walking to al-Shifa Hospital – the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza Strip, and located in the neighborhood of northern Rimal in Gaza City.
“For the past 100 days, Ahlam chronicled the genocide in northern Gaza, capturing evidence of Israeli war crimes from the besieged Indonesian Hospital.
“Through her words and images, she ensured that atrocities which might have been silenced were brought to light, allowing the world to witness the brutal reality unfolding there,” Drop Site News wrote in a statement published on its X account on Tuesday.
It underlined that Ahlam’s work documenting the attacks on the Indonesian Hospital was irreplaceable.
“She was one of the last remaining voices in northern Gaza — a voice the world desperately needed. Without her, the full extent of Israel’s actions might never have been known,” the statement also read.
For its part, the Indonesian Hospital said, “Ahlam courageously documented the genocide in north Gaza, residing in the medical facility during its siege, taking evidence of war crimes and bearing witness to tell the story with her pictures and her words, many of which we shared with you.”
Journalists working within the Palestinian territory face heightened risks while covering the genocidal war, particularly in light of Israeli ground assaults and airstrikes, as well as challenges such as disrupted communications, shortages of supplies, and power outages.
In the face of these difficulties, Palestinian journalists have continued to document the atrocities of the war, acting as the global community's eyes and ears throughout one of the most deadly wars of the 21st century.
Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to its decades-long campaign of oppression against Palestinians.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 46,645 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 110,012 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.
On November 21 last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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