118 years for accused in Jeddah flood disaster

December 1, 2014

Jeddah, Dec 1: The long-awaited verdict against people accused of causing the 2009 Jeddah floods has finally been announced. The floods killed more than 120 people and destroyed several homes causing damage to property worth millions of riyals in the sprawling city.

The Court of Grievances issued 39 verdicts that convicted 45 defendants and acquitted 78 others. The convicted defendants will spend a total of 118 years and six months in jail and pay a total of SR14.17 million in fines.

The court dealt with 131 defendants in 32 cases filed on the issue creating a big uproar among Jeddawis as it was unprecedented in the city’s history.

There were 12 decisions urging investigators to complete their probes while five decisions called for adding some cases to others.

The verdicts have been handed over to the Makkah governorate to be pronounced on the defendants including high-ranking officials in service departments, academics, engineers, businessmen and foreign workers.

The charges against the defendants included accepting and payment of bribery, forgery, misuse of official authority, misuse of public money, engaging in illegal business activities and money laundering.

Investigators had probed 300 people and 30 companies. The Jeddah floods resulted in the deaths of more than 120 people and rendered about 10,000 people homeless. It prompted the Makkah governorate to carry out 14 emergency projects to deal with floods in the city.

The projects, which were said to have been completed in record time, included the construction of Um Al-Khair and Samir dams.

In addition, the government implemented a number of other projects including five dams, expansion of the existing canals in the northern, southern and eastern parts of Jeddah and the construction of a new canal along King Abdulaziz International Airport to contain the floods in the city.

Nesma Company won a contract worth SR803 million to build four dams in Wadi Ghaya, Wadi Um Hablain, Wadi Daghbaj, and Wadi Briman and another contract worth SR372 million to build a dam in Wadi Ghalil and renovate the southern floodwater path.

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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