Eight tunnels to ease traffic in Makkah

May 30, 2013

Jeddah, May 30: Eight new tunnels, including two for pedestrians, are under construction in the holy city of Makkah to ensure free flow of pilgrims and vehicles, press reports said yesterday.

“The tunnels are constructed as part of King Abdullah Project for Expansion of Makkah and holy sites,” one source said, adding that

they would be ready for use shortly.

The project includes construction of three emergency tunnels for rapid evacuation purposes, two tunnels for sewage and electricity and one for services.

The pedestrian tunnels will have a width of 16 meters each and a height of 8.3 meters.

Both tunnels located side by side, with a length of 740 meters, originate from the side of Masaa (the running area between Safa and Marwa) and ends at Hajoun, the source said.

In a related development, Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen said the King Abdullah Zamzam Water Distribution Center in Makkah is working round the clock and throughout the year and can supply 200,000 bottles (10 liters each) daily.

The center, which was set up at a cost of SR 700 million, has four production lines while its tanks have a storage capacity of 36,000 cubic meters.

“We are planning to construct another storage tank with a capacity of 40,000 cubic meters,” the minister said.

Total production of the center reached 1.8 million cubic meters since its inception three years ago, of which 1.3 million cubic meters was pumped to the two holy mosques.

Last year it distributed 650,000 bottles of water among the Haj pilgrims.

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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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