Hajj Pilgrims Perform Arrival Tawaf amid COVID Precautions

Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)
Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)
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Hajj Pilgrims Perform Arrival Tawaf amid COVID Precautions

Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)
Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)

Hajj pilgrims arrived at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Saturday to perform the Tawaf of Arrival (Tawaf al-Qudum).

The General Presidency for the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has taken major preparations and dedicated all possible means to ensure that the pilgrims perform the holy rituals safely and smoothly with the necessary health precautions in place amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Director of the General Department of Crowds at the Grand Holy Mosque, Osama bin Mansour Al-Hujaili said authorities are prepared for the some 11,000 pilgrims, who will perform Saturday’s rituals.

Over 500 personnel will receive the pilgrims at the Grand Mosque and ensure that social distancing and other regulations are respected.



Saudi Arabia, GCC Condemn Israeli Bombing of UNRWA School

Rubble after the Israeli attack in Gaza (EPA photo)
Rubble after the Israeli attack in Gaza (EPA photo)
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Saudi Arabia, GCC Condemn Israeli Bombing of UNRWA School

Rubble after the Israeli attack in Gaza (EPA photo)
Rubble after the Israeli attack in Gaza (EPA photo)

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed the Kingdom’s strongest condemnation and denunciation of Israeli forces targeting a school that was sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the death of several people, including employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The Kingdom stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, protection of unarmed civilians, and an end to the unprecedented humanitarian disaster that the Gaza Strip is witnessing due to Israeli violations of international laws and norms, SPA reported.
The Kingdom reiterated its complete rejection of targeting relief facilities, organizations, and their workers, stressing the responsibility of the international community to activate mechanisms of international accountability and put an end to these ongoing Israeli violations of international and humanitarian laws

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi also expressed his condemnation and denunciation of the UNRWA school bombing.
In a statement, Albudaiwi emphasized the urgent need for the international community to take a firm stance against the Israeli army to halt the continuous and systematic violations against the Palestinian people that have resulted in the tragic loss of tens of thousands of innocent civilian lives.
He said that the deliberate targeting of relief and UN staff represents yet another heinous crime added to the long list of repeated war crimes committed by the Israeli forces in Gaza. He also reiterated the statement made during the 161st GCC ministerial council meeting, held on September 9, firmly rejecting any attempts to justify the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip as self-defense.
He urged the international community to take action to address the unlawful practices of the Israeli government and its policy of collective punishment imposed on the besieged residents of Gaza and the entire Palestinian population.