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GCC Slams Israel’s Attack on Khan Younis, Calling it a War Crime

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a makeshift displacement camp in Mawasi Khan Yunis on September 10, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a makeshift displacement camp in Mawasi Khan Yunis on September 10, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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GCC Slams Israel’s Attack on Khan Younis, Calling it a War Crime

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a makeshift displacement camp in Mawasi Khan Yunis on September 10, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a makeshift displacement camp in Mawasi Khan Yunis on September 10, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi strongly condemned on Tuesday the “brutal massacre carried out by the Israeli forces against innocent Palestinian refugees in Khan Younis in Gaza.”

He stressed that these continuous and brutal attacks perpetrated by the Israeli forces against unarmed civilians in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territories “can only be described as deliberate war crimes, revealing a blatant and systematic criminal approach that reflects an utter disregard for international and humanitarian laws and treaties.”

He added that these acts are “blatant contempt for all legal, ethical, and humanitarian values,” the GCC said in a statement.

Albudaiwi called on the international community “to take immediate and urgent action to put an end to these heinous crimes, take decisive measures to cease fire immediately, subject the Israeli forces to accountability for their crimes against humanity, and hold the Israeli government responsible for its racist and barbaric policies against the defenseless Palestinians.”

An Israeli strike hit a crowded Palestinian tent camp early Tuesday in Gaza, killing at least 19 people and wounding 60, Palestinian officials said.

The overnight strike occurred in Mawasi, a sprawl of crowded tent camps along the Gaza coast that Israel designated as a humanitarian zone for hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians to seek shelter from the nearly year-old Israel-Hamas war.

The Muslim World League (MWL) also strongly condemned “the horrific massacres perpetrated by the Israeli forces against the Palestinian people.”

It denounced the continued targeting of unarmed displaced Palestinians in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, located in a designated “safe zone” in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement, MWL Secretary General Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa expressed his deepest concern over the Israeli government's “blatant violation of all international and humanitarian resolutions, laws, and norms.”

“This ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, unfolding before the eyes of the world, is a direct challenge to the international community's calls for the protection of innocent lives,” he added.

Sheikh Al-Issa emphasized that “there is no justification for this barbarism and humanitarian tragedy other than defiance, arrogance, and revenge against innocent lives. This escalation only serves to complicate the Palestinian issue and hinder the pursuit of peace in the region.”

The MWL called upon the international community “to take urgent action to halt these ongoing massacres, confront the systematic killing, and stop the humanitarian catastrophe facing the Palestinian people.”

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Gulf

King Salman: We Thank God for Honoring Us With Serving the Two Holy Mosques and Caring for Pilgrims

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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King Salman: We Thank God for Honoring Us With Serving the Two Holy Mosques and Caring for Pilgrims

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Wednesday expressed “gratitude to Almighty God for honoring us with the service of the Two Holy Mosques and the care of pilgrims to His Sacred House.”

King Salman prayed that God accept the pilgrims’ Hajj, rituals and acts of worship.

“With the advent of the blessed Eid al-Adha, we congratulate our people in this blessed homeland and our Islamic nation on this occasion, and pray to Him Almighty to make it an Eid of goodness, peace and stability for our nation and the entire world. May you all be well every year,” the king said.

Since dawn on the first day of Eid al-Adha, pilgrims have begun performing the stoning ritual at Mina, casting seven pebbles at the Grand Jamarat (Jamarat al-Aqaba), amid smooth crowd movement under the prepared dispatching plan.

About 1.7 million pilgrims departed to Muzdalifah after sunset on Tuesday following their standing at Arafat to perform the greatest pillar of Hajj, in safety and dressed in unified white garments.

Security and service teams were deployed across the holy sites to oversee pilgrims’ movement from Arafat to Muzdalifah, where they remained until dawn on Wednesday, the morning of Eid al-Adha, in preparation for proceeding to Mina to perform the stoning of Jamarat al-Aqaba, Tawaf al-Ifadah, the sacrificial offering, and the shaving or trimming of hair, before staying in Mina for the remainder of the Hajj rites.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif said the level of security, organizational and service integration across the Hajj system, along with its advanced capabilities and preparations, reflects the scale of care provided to pilgrims and enhances the efficiency of implementing security and operational plans to ensure their safety and enable them to perform their rituals with ease and reassurance.

On Tuesday, the interior minister inspected the Special Security Forces of the Presidency of State Security participating in the Hajj security forces, praising the specialized efforts carried out by the units.

Gulf

Pilgrims Perform Stoning Ritual at Jamrat Al-Aqaba in Mina

Muslim pilgrims cast stones at a pillar symbolizing Satan, during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at a pillar symbolizing Satan, during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Pilgrims Perform Stoning Ritual at Jamrat Al-Aqaba in Mina

Muslim pilgrims cast stones at a pillar symbolizing Satan, during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at a pillar symbolizing Satan, during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Pilgrims arriving from Muzdalifah began at dawn Wednesday performing the stoning ritual at Jamrat Al-Aqaba in Mina on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, amid an integrated system of security, health, and organizational services provided by the relevant Saudi authorities to facilitate the performance of rituals.

The Jamarat facility witnessed smooth crowd movement supported by direct field monitoring and operational plans designed to regulate pedestrian flows and ensure safe mobility between the holy sites.

Authorities were on hand around the facility through the deployment of ambulance and medical teams, guidance and awareness services, and enhanced sanitation and cleaning operations to provide a safe and comfortable environment for pilgrims.

Meanwhile, shuttle buses and Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro continued transporting pilgrims between the holy sites according to operational schedules aligned with traffic and crowd-management plans aimed at easing movement and reducing travel time.

Stoning of Jamrat Al-Aqaba marks one of the key Hajj rituals performed by pilgrims following their overnight stay in Muzdalifah, before continuing the remaining rites of the Day of Al-Nahr (Day of Sacrifice), including animal sacrifice, hair shaving or trimming, and Tawaf Al-Ifadah.

Gulf

Hajj Pilgrims Head to Muzdalifah after Arafat, as Mina Prepares for Their Return

Muslim pilgrims pray on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage early on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
Muslim pilgrims pray on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage early on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
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Hajj Pilgrims Head to Muzdalifah after Arafat, as Mina Prepares for Their Return

Muslim pilgrims pray on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage early on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
Muslim pilgrims pray on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage early on May 26, 2026. (AFP)

Hajj pilgrims began heading to Muzdalifah at sunset on Tuesday, the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, to spend the night there after standing on the plain of Arafat and completing the greatest pillar of the Hajj.

The move came after pilgrims spent the Day of Tarwiyah in Mina, following the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed.

Saudi security and service teams were deployed across the holy sites to manage the movement from Arafat to Muzdalifah, where pilgrims will remain until dawn on Wednesday, the first day of Eid al-Adha.

They will then head to Mina to stone Jamarat al-Aqaba, sacrifice their animals, shave or shorten their hair, and stay there for the remaining days of the pilgrimage.

In a solemn scene, about 1.7 million pilgrims, according to the General Authority for Statistics, poured into Arafat from the early morning hours of the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah to perform Hajj’s central rite.

Dressed in white, they chanted the talbiyah and prayed for forgiveness and mercy on one of the most solemn days of the Hajj.

Muslim pilgrims gather at Jabal al-Rahmah (Mount of Mercy) in the Arafat region near Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 26 May 2026. (EPA)

Their hearts were united by one purpose, seeking pardon, forgiveness, and spiritual renewal. Their colors, nationalities, and languages differed, but their prayers rose as one, pleading for mercy and deliverance from hellfire.

The pilgrims performed the noon and afternoon prayers combined and shortened, with one call to prayer and two iqamahs, at Al-Namirah Mosque in Arafat, in keeping with the Sunnah of the Prophet.

They listened to the Arafat sermon, delivered this year by Sheikh Dr. Ali Al-Hudhaifi, imam and preacher.

Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz, deputy governor of the Makkah Region and deputy chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Committee for Hajj and Umrah, said at Arafat that the Kingdom’s leadership gives great attention to serving pilgrims and harnessing all technical and human resources so they can perform their rituals safely and smoothly from arrival to departure.

He said Saudi Arabia had been honored with the responsibility of serving the Grand Mosque and its visitors, and had made serving pilgrims a deeply rooted mission passed down through generations and supported by the care of its leadership.

Speaking on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Saud welcomed the pilgrims and said the Day of Arafat embodies the highest meanings of unity and equality.

Saudi Arabia had mobilized all its capabilities and resources to develop projects, prepare facilities, deploy modern technologies, and harness national talent and human expertise to help pilgrims perform their rituals with ease, he stressed.

He said the Kingdom would continue developing the Hajj system and improving services for pilgrims, guided by its noble mission toward Islam and Muslims.

Prince Saud praised pilgrims for their cooperation and adherence to instructions, urging them to maintain awareness and discipline to help ensure the best services and complete their spiritual journey in comfort and calm.

He also commended workers from various sectors serving pilgrims, saying their sincere efforts reflect the noble values and humanitarian principles of Saudi citizens, as well as the honor of serving pilgrims in pursuit of divine reward.

Muslim pilgrims make their way to Jabal al-Rahmah (Mount of Mercy) in the Arafat region near Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 26 May 2026. (EPA)

Carefully planned security operation

The movement of pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah was smooth and flexible, with convoys monitored directly by security teams to organize them according to movement and grouping plans, guide them, and ensure their safety.

The security plan was designed to ease the flow of crowds through the Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro line, buses, and pedestrian routes, as part of an integrated service system for pilgrims.

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry is tracking pilgrim movements across the holy sites through an advanced digital system that has improved field decision-making, crowd management, service efficiency, and pilgrim safety.

The system uses advanced technologies and smart operating systems to monitor crowd density, pedestrian movement, and transport in key locations. It analyzes live operational indicators using artificial intelligence to improve movement and respond to field developments.

Security operations and control centers linked to the digital system strengthen coordination among security, service, and health agencies at the holy sites through real-time monitoring.

They also help improve performance, maintain services during the Hajj season, forecast crowd density, and manage pilgrim movement.