Fire damages six buildings in Jeddah’s historic center

Agencies

August 16, 2017

Jeddah, Aug 16: A fire took hold of six buildings, three of which collapsed completely, in Jeddah’s historic center Tuesday, forcing 60 people to evacuate, officials said.

“Rescue teams managed Tuesday evening to evacuate about 60 people to safe areas, while firefighters extinguished the blaze that broke out at the front of six buildings, all of which were populated and within the historic area,” Col. Saeed Sarhan, civil defense spokesman in the region of Makkah, said.

Engineer Sami Nawar, mayor of the Al-Balad district, said that the affected buildings included those by the names of Al-Qumsani, Al-Ashmawi and Abdel-Aal. The names of the other affected buildings were not immediately released.

More than a dozen firefighting and rescue teams from Jeddah’s General Directorate of Civil Defense helped in battling the blaze.

By 10 p.m., firefighters managed to contain around 80 percent of the blaze, according to Nawar.

“According to preliminary information available to investigators, the fire broke out in a four-story brick building made of mud and coral limestone drawn from the Red Sea and roofed with wood. The flames extended to two other buildings within the area through wooden beams at the front of the buildings. The two buildings later collapsed,” Nawar said.

The emergency response teams rushed to the scene of the fire as soon as the incident was reported, however, witnesses said the teams were delayed due to the lack of space between buildings in the area.

The buildings in the immediate area were evacuated to ensure the safety of the neighborhood’s residents and firefighters combed the affected buildings — including those which had collapsed — to ensure no one was left inside, Sarhan said.

The Saudi Red Crescent Authority established a medical screening area close to the site in anticipation of any injuries that could have occurred during the attempt to battle the blaze. In addition, security patrols, police and the traffic department are working together with the civil defense teams to secure the area.

Sarhan confirmed that the incident did not result in any injuries or loss of life.

Jeddah’s governor, Prince Mishaal bin Majed, is in touch with the director of Jeddah’s General Directorate of Civil Defense regarding the matter.

Al-Balad is the historic center of Jeddah and the primary gateway to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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