Drones used to surveil Hajj participants as 269,000 barred from Mecca
Saudi Arabian authorities have stopped more than 269,000 people without the necessary permits from entering Mecca ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The Saudi government attributes overcrowding during the Hajj to unauthorised participants, noting that many who died in last year's extreme heat lacked official permission.
There are currently 1.4 million Muslims officially in Mecca, with more expected in the coming days.
Fines of up to $5,000 and deportation are imposed on those performing the Hajj without a permit, including citizens and Saudi residents.
Officials have penalised more than 23,000 Saudi residents for violating Hajj regulations and revoked the licenses of 400 Hajj companies. Drones are being used for surveillance and fire monitoring.
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The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Gaza marks the start of Eid with outdoor prayers amongst the rubble and food growing ever scarcer
Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip marked the start of one of Islam's most important holidays with prayers outside destroyed mosques and homes early Friday, with little hope the war with Israel will end soon. With much of Gaza in rubble, men and children were forced to hold the traditional Eid al-Adha prayers in the open air and with food supplies dwindling, families were having to make do with what they could scrape together for the three-day feast. 'This is the worst feast that the Palestinian people have experienced because of the unjust war against the Palestinian people,' said Kamel Emran after attending prayers in the southern city of Khan Younis. 'There is no food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes, no mattresses ... The conditions are very, very harsh.' The Islamic holiday begins on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, during the Hajj season in Saudi Arabia. For the second year, Muslims in Gaza were not able to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the traditional pilgrimage. The war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry which does not distinguish between civilians or combatants in its figures. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. After blocking all food and aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, Israel began allowing a trickle of supplies to enter for the U.N. several weeks ago. But the U.N says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and because roads that the military designates for its trucks to use are unsafe and vulnerable to looters. The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome said Thursday that Gaza's people are projected to fall into acute food insecurity by September, with nearly 500,000 people experiencing extreme food deprivation, leading to malnutrition and starvation. 'This means the risk of famine is really touching the whole of the Gaza Strip,' Rein Paulson, director of the FAO office of emergencies and resilience, said in an interview. Over the past two weeks, shootings have erupted nearly daily in the Gaza Strip in the vicinity of new hubs where desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid and trying to block it from reaching Palestinians, and has said soldiers fired warning shots or at individuals approaching its troops in some cases. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a newly formed group of mainly American contractors that Israel wants to use to replace humanitarian groups in Gaza that distribute aid in coordination with the U.N., said Friday that all its distribution centers were closed for the day due to the ongoing violence. It urged people to stay away for their own safety, and said it would make an announcement later as to when they would resume distributing humanitarian aid. _____ Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Paolo Santalucia in Rome and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this story.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Muslims around di world dey celebrate Salah festival Eid Mubarak
All around di world, Muslim faithful dey celebrate Eid-el-Kabir wey dem also sabi as Eid al-Adha or di Festival of Sacrifice. Dis holiday na one of di most important for di Islamic faithful. Plenti Muslims sabi say di day na to commemorate di willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice im son Ismail (Ishmael) as act of obedience to Allah command, but dem believe say Allah bin provide ram for di sacrifice instead. One ogbonge tin about di festival na di special prayers wey come wit feasting, and di ritual slaughter of animals such as sheep, goats, cows, or camels, especially ram. Dem go come distribute di meat from di sacrificed animals among family, friends, and di less privileged. Dem dey use dis as sign of charity, community help, and obedience to God. Across different kontris, Muslims don come out to go pray for mosque in large numbers to do special prayers. Dressed in shining clothes and colourful attire, smile full dia faces as dem greet each other. Dis na how ogbonge pictures show us how dem celebrate di Salah festival for some kontris: Why animal sacrifice dey hapun for di festival Di Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha - or Festival of Sacrifice na to rememba prophet Ibrahim willingness to sacrifice im son Ibrahim, wey dey known as Abraham for Christianity and Judaism. Di belief be say Prophet Ibrahim bin get one dream wey e take as message from Allah, say make e sacrifice im son Ismail as act of obedience. Wen im tell im son di mesaage, Ismail bin gree and ask im papa to obey di command. As Ibrahim wan kill im son, Allah bin stop am and give am one 'ram' (sheep) to sacrifice instead. Muslims around di world for ritual dey sacrifice different types of livestock. Traditionally, di act dey compulsory if pesin get di moni wey pass im or her need.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Lebanese army warns Israeli airstrikes might force it to freeze cooperation with ceasefire committee
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