Saudi Arabia harnessed all capabilities to serve pilgrims, says top diplomat

Arab News
August 15, 2019

Jeddah, Aug 15:  Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Naif conveyed Eid Al-Adha greetings to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and congratulated them on the success of this year’s Hajj, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He thanked the king for taking care of the pilgrims and for providing them with all the facilities and services needed. Around 2.5 million pilgrims performed the Hajj this year and all the measures put in place by authorities and agencies were successful, he added.

The minister said: “I congratulate you on the success achieved in this year’s Hajj season, in the implementation of wise directives and ... and preparing all the services and facilities for pilgrims to perform their rituals with ease, comfort, security and tranquility, including the Makkah Route initiative launched three years ago.”

The Hajj season this year was characterized by the successful implementation of all security, preventative, organizational, service and traffic plans.

Pilgrims arrived in Arafat, Nafra, Muzdalifah and Mina in record time according to strict organization and smooth streamlining, up to Jamarat (where pilgrims throw stones) and flocking to the Grand Mosque to perform Tawaf Al-Ifadah (circumambulation) and completion of their Hajj rituals.

The security situation remained stable and there were no incidents disturbing the pilgrimage, Prince Abdul Aziz said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Al-Assaf stressed that the Kingdom has harnessed all its capabilities and sectors to serve the guests of Allah and provide all means to facilitate the performance of their rituals with ease and tranquility, sensing the great responsibility toward Muslims in all countries of the world without differentiation or discrimination.

He said that the role of the ministry during the Hajj season integrates with the roles of other sectors of the state under the directives of the leadership to provide everything that reflects the Kingdom’s efforts in the service of visitors of the Two Holy Mosques.

Makkah Gov. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal also thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for supervising the services offered to pilgrims during this year’s Hajj.

Prince Khalid said all Saudis were proud of the efforts made to help pilgrims during their stay in the Kingdom.

The Makkah governor said that more than 350,000 people had worked to provide pilgrims with support and services. 

He also said that 35,000 volunteers, in addition to 120,000 security personnel, 30,000 health practitioners and 200,000 workers from other sectors, had contributed to the success of the Hajj season.

Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah said the Hajj health plans for this year were successful and there was nothing that might have negatively affected public health.

He praised the king and the crown prince for supporting the Ministry of Health, its employees and all sectors connected to this year’s Hajj operations.

Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK, also congratulated the king and crown prince on a successful Hajj season.

There were 2,489,406 pilgrims at this year’s Hajj, according to the General Authority for Statistics, and 1,855,027 of them came from outside the Kingdom. There were 634,379 domestic pilgrims, of whom 67 percent were non-Saudi.

There were 1,385,234 male pilgrims and 1,104,172 female pilgrims, the authority added.

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News Network
September 28,2024

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A new wave of Israeli airstrikes have reportedly hit the Dahiyeh area in the south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which had come under deadly aerial attacks by the regime just hours earlier.

The strikes targeted several buildings in the al-Hadath and Laylaki neighborhoods in the area on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, reports pointed to “a third wave of strikes” on al-Hadath as well as strikes against Choueifat, another southern Beirut suburb, with subsequent accounts putting the total number of the attacks at more than 30.

The Israeli military claimed that it was conducting strikes targeting “weapons belonging to Hezbollah…that were stored beneath civilian buildings” in southern Beirut.

Hezbollah's Media Relations’ Office, however, asserted, “The enemy's claims about the presence of weapons or weapons depots in the civilian buildings targeted by the bombing in the southern suburb are false.”

Simultaneous Israeli airstrikes targeted areas near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, including al-Bass, Burj al-Shamali, and al-Maashouq.

Also on Saturday, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon warned that the country was facing bloodshed not seen in decades, and that the crisis could deteriorate even further.

"The recent escalations in Lebanon are nothing short of catastrophic,” Imran Riza said. “We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning.”

On Friday, Israeli warplanes struck at least six residential structures in Dahiyeh's Haret Hreik neighborhood, killing at least eight people and wounding some 80 others.

The attacks came as part of the regime’s escalation against Lebanon that has been targeting the country since October 7, when Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The escalation has taken a deadlier turn since Monday, claiming the lives of more than 700 people across the country.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

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News Network
October 1,2024

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The Israeli regime has conducted a series of deadly airstrikes on the Syrian capital of Damascus, with Syrian media reporting three rounds of strikes in the capital area in one night.

An Israeli aircraft launched several missiles from the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, targeting locations southwest of Damascus.

Syrian air defenses successfully intercepted many of these missiles, according to the Syrian state media.

According to the Syrian military, the Israeli aggression led to the martyrdom of three civilians, the injury of nine others, and significant damage to private property.

The Al Mayadeen news outlet reports that local journalist Safaa Ahmad was among those killed in the attack, which hit the Mezzeh neighborhood in the Syrian capital. Rescue crews are dealing with fires on the ground.

Syrian television said one of its anchors was killed in the Israeli strike on Damascus on Tuesday.

State television said in a statement that it "mourns anchor Safaa Ahmad who was martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus."

The official SANA news agency earlier said "air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets for the third time tonight in the Damascus area," using a phrase that usually refers to Israeli aggression.

Subsequently, another wave of attacks was aimed at the suburbs of Damascus which was intercepted by air defenses.

Syria has consistently called on the UN Security Council to take action against these assaults, which it views as clear violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime rarely comments on its attacks on Syrian territories, which many see as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s phenomenal success in confronting and decimating terrorism.

Damascus has time and again called on the UN Security Council to put an end to the regime’s attacks that violate Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Israeli attacks on Syria come amid the regime’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, over the past year.

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News Network
October 4,2024

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Powerful blasts rocked Beirut overnight in some of the heaviest Israeli strikes on the capital of Lebanon so far as the Lebanese Health Ministry reports dozens killed and over 150 wounded in bombing attacks across the country in the past 24 hours.

Israel launched several waves of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern neighborhood of Dahiyeh on Thursday.

The regime used powerful bunker-buster bombs in its latest attacks, whose number was more than a dozen.

Several civilian buildings were the main goals of the regime’s latest strikes.

Reports indicate that more bombs were used in the latest attacks compared to the strike that killed the leader of the Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, last Friday.

The attacks also hit the vicinity of Beirut International Airport.

Israel’s strikes also targeted several other locations, including Hezbollah’s media relations office and a warehouse near the Beirut airport.

A source close to Hezbollah said Israel had conducted 11 consecutive strikes in south Beirut on Thursday night.

AFP correspondents in the Lebanese capital heard loud bangs that made car alarms go off and buildings shake.

"Israel struck the southern suburbs 11 consecutive times," the source said on the condition of anonymity.

Giant balls of flame rose from the targeted site with thick smoke billowing and flares shooting out.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said that "more than 10 consecutive strikes have been recorded so far, in one of the strongest raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut since the start of the Israeli war on Lebanon."

The strikes echoed to mountain regions outside Beirut, the NNA said.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli army issued an “urgent warning” to the residents of the south Beirut area of Burj al-Barajneh to evacuate along with maps of the area.

“You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the [Israeli army] will operate in the near future,” its official Arabic language spokesperson posted on X.

The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since early October 2023 has passed the 1,700 mark with nearly 8,770 injured, according to Lebanese government data.

In response, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets and drones towards Israeli targets.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations, including with hypersonic ballistic missiles, targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Lebanese resistance movement has vowed to keep up its operations against Israel as long as the Israeli regime continues its Gaza war, which has so far killed more than 41,780 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The qualitative strikes of Hezbollah have so far thwarted any hostile "Israeli" advance into Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah said in a statement that at least 17 Israeli troops have been killed since the regime launched its incursion into southern Lebanon.

Since dawn on Thursday, the Lebanese resistance fighters have been repelling every attempt by the Israeli elite forces to advance on multiple fronts in southern Lebanon, inflicting heavy losses in equipment and personnel.

A Lebanese political analyst recently praised Hezbollah’s operational capabilities, warning that Israeli forces will become "sitting ducks" for the Lebanese resistance group should they attempt a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

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