Pilgrim reduction to continue for 2 years

October 6, 2013

Jeddah, Oct 6: Saudi Arabia will continue to slash the number of domestic and foreign pilgrims for two more years until the ongoing mataf (circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba) expansion project is completed to ensure the safety of pilgrims, a senior official said.

“The Kingdom decided to reduce foreign pilgrims by 20 percent and domestic pilgrims by 50 percent this year because of the mataf expansion project, which will take three years to complete,” Deputy Haj Minister Eissa Rawwas told Arab News when asked whether the government would allow more pilgrims to perform Haj next year.
The mataf project is carried out in three phases.
“This year they will complete one-third of the project while the remaining two phases will be completed in the next two years. Once the project is complete more pilgrims will be able to perform Haj,” Rawwas said.
The project aims at increasing the mataf’s capacity from 48,000 to 130,000 pilgrims per hour. The Haram expansion, which is taking place concurrently, will hike the Grand Mosque’s capacity to two million worshippers.

The minister called upon all pilgrims to follow the Kingdom’s Haj regulations as well as the grouping system that was introduced to prevent overcrowding at mataf and the Jamrat (where the faithful stone Satan) in Mina.
Rawwas said the government decided to reduce the number of pilgrims until the completion of mataf expansion following the advice of crowd management experts. “Definitely this is done for the benefit of pilgrims.”
Saad Al-Qurashi, president of the National Haj & Umrah Committee at Makkah Chamber, told Arab News that the minimum Haj service charge has been reduced to SR2,500, adding that it would benefit 10,000 pilgrims.
Nearly 2 million pilgrims, including about 1.3 million who have come from abroad, will take part in this year’s Haj that begins on Oct. 13. Civil Defense Director General Lt. Gen. Saad Al-Tuwaijri has warned that his department would not tolerate any violations of Haj safety regulations, adding that the violators would be arrested. “We have given powers to our officers to remove all safety violations at pilgrim houses in Makkah and tents in the holy sites.”

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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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