International

Israel – Hamas war: Gazans unable to travel for Hajj pilgrimage

Published

2 weeks ago

June 15, 2024

Israel – Hamas war: Gazans unable to travel for Hajj pilgrimage

This year’s Hajj pilgrimage came against the backdrop of the raging war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The war has pushed the entire Middle East to the brink of a regional war between Israel and its allies on one side and Iran-backed militant groups on the other.

Palestinians in the coastal enclave of Gaza were not able to travel to Mecca for Hajj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing in May when Israel extended its ground offensive to the strip’s southern city on the border with Egypt.

“We are deprived of (performing) Hajj because the crossing is closed, and because of the raging wars and destruction,” said Amna Abu Mutlaq, a 75-year-old Palestinian woman from Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis who had planned to perform Hajj this year. “They (Israel) deprived us from everything.”

Palestinian authorities said 4,200 pilgrims from the occupied West Bank arrived in Mecca for Hajj.

Saudi authorities said 1,000 more from the families of Palestinians killed or wounded in the war in Gaza also arrived to perform Hajj at the invitation of King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

The 1,000 invitees were already outside Gaza – mostly in Egypt – before the closure of the Rafah crossing.

More than 1.5 million pilgrims from around the world have already amassed in and around Mecca for Hajj, and the number was still growing as more pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia joined.

Saudi authorities expected the number of pilgrims to exceed two million this year.

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The pilgrimage is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to make the five-day Hajj at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do it.

It is a moving spiritual experience for pilgrims, who believe it absolves sins and brings them closer to God, while uniting the world’s more than two billion Muslims.

It’s also a chance to pray for peace in many conflict-stricken Arab and Muslim countries, including Yemen and Sudan, where more than a year of war between rival generals created the world’s largest displacement crisis.

For many Muslims, the Hajj is the only major journey they make in their lifetime. Some spend years saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the journey in their 50s and 60s after they have raised their children.

The rituals during the Hajj largely commemorate the Quran’s accounts of Prophet Ibrahim, his son Prophet Ismail and Ismail’s mother Hajar – or Abraham and Ismael as they are named in the Bible.

Male pilgrims wear an ihram, two unstitched sheets of white cloth that resemble a shroud, while women dress conservative, loose-fitting clothing with headscarves, and forgo makeup and perfume.

They have been doing the ritual circuit around the cube-shaped Kaaba, counter-clockwise in the seven-minaret Grand Mosque since arriving in Mecca over recent days.

Saudi authorities have adopted security restrictions in and around Mecca, with checkpoints set up on roads leading to the city to prevent those who don’t have Hajj permits from reaching the holy sites.

Israel – Hamas war: Gazans unable to travel for Hajj pilgrimage

Africanews

Related Topics:Gaza Hajj pilgrimage Israel

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International

Pentagon chief seeks urgent diplomacy to avoid Israel-Hezbollah war

Published

10 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Trends Admin

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

Pentagon chief seeks urgent diplomacy to avoid Israel-Hezbollah war

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that a diplomatic solution is needed to avoid a costly war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

During a meeting with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, Austin blamed soaring tensions on “provocations” by Hezbollah but noted that a full-blown war would be destructive for all involved and could spark a regional conflagration.

“Diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation. So we’re urgently seeking a diplomatic agreement that restores lasting calm to Israel’s northern border and enables civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border,” Austin told reporters.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire on a near-daily basis since the beginning of the war in Gaza, but escalating attacks over the last several weeks have caused growing unease.

Gallant has often suggested that Israel could pursue a large-scale war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. On Tuesday, Gallant said that he was “working closely” with Austin to find a diplomatic resolution, but that they also discussed military “readiness on every possible scenario”.

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While Israel has blamed Hezbollah for the displacement of thousands of Israelis from their homes near the Lebanese border, the Iran-linked group has signalled throughout the conflict that it is not interested in a wider war.

Thousands of Lebanese civilians have been displaced from the areas near the border with Israel, and more than 80 civilians and noncombatants have been killed. In Israel, 11 civilians have been killed since October.

Hezbollah is considered one of the most sophisticated and well-armed paramilitary groups in the world, and a larger conflict between the group and Israel could have devastating impacts on each side.

While the administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly urged Israel to avoid a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, it has recently stated that, in the event of such a move, Israel would receive full US support.

“Such a war would be a catastrophe for Lebanon and it would be devastating for innocent Israeli and Lebanese civilians,” said Austin.

Pentagon chief seeks urgent diplomacy to avoid Israel-Hezbollah war

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

International

Alcohol kills 2.6 million people annually, says WHO

Published

1 day ago

June 25, 2024

Trends Admin

Alcohol kills 2.6 million people annually, says WHO

Alcohol kills nearly three million people annually, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, adding that while the death rate had dropped slightly in recent years it remained “unacceptably high”.

The United Nations health agency’s latest report on alcohol and health said alcohol causes nearly one in 20 deaths globally each year, through drunk driving, alcohol-induced violence and abuse, and a multitude of diseases and disorders.

The report said 2.6 million deaths were attributed to alcohol consumption in 2019 — the latest available statistics — accounting for 4.7 per cent of all deaths worldwide that year.

Nearly three-quarters of those deaths were in men, it said.

“Substance use severely harms individual health, increasing the risk of chronic diseases, mental health conditions, and tragically resulting in millions of preventable deaths every year,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

He pointed out that there had been “some reduction in alcohol consumption and related harm worldwide since 2010”.

“(But) the health and social burden due to alcohol use remains unacceptably high,” he continued, highlighting that younger people were disproportionately affected.

The highest proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths in 2019 — 13 per cent — were among people aged 20 to 39, the WHO said.

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Drinking is linked to a slew of health conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver and some cancers.

Of all the fatalities it caused in 2019, the report found that an estimated 1.6 million were from noncommunicable diseases.

Of these, 474,000 were from cardiovascular diseases, 401,000 from cancer and a huge 724,000 from injuries, including traffic accidents and self-harm.

Alcohol abuse also makes people more susceptible to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia, the report found.

An estimated 209 million people lived with alcohol dependence in 2019 — 3.7 per cent of the global population.

Total per capita consumption worldwide decreased slightly to 5.5 litres of alcohol in 2019 from 5.7 litres nine years earlier, the report found.

However, alcohol consumption overall is unevenly distributed around the globe.

Well, over half of the world’s population over the age of 15 abstains completely.

Europe accounted by far for the highest levels of per capita drinking, at 9.2 litres, followed by the Americas at 7.5 litres.

The lowest consumption was in predominantly Muslim countries in Northern Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the report said.

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Among people who drank alcohol in 2019, the report determined they consumed 27 grammes of pure alcohol per day on average.

That is roughly equivalent to two glasses of wine, two small bottles of beer or two shots of spirits.

“This level and frequency of drinking is associated with increased risks of numerous health conditions and associated mortality and disability,” the WHO warned.

In 2019, a full 38 per cent of current drinkers acknowledged having engaged in heavy episodic drinking, defined as consuming at least 60 grammes of pure alcohol on one or more occasions in the preceding month.

Globally, 23.5 per cent of 15- to 19-year-olds were considered current drinkers.

That jumped to more than 45 per cent for people in this age group living in Europe, and to nearly 44 per cent in the Americas.

The WHO said it was essential to improve access to quality treatment for substance use disorders.

In 2019, the proportion of people contacting such treatment services ranged from below one per cent to 35 per cent in countries providing this data.

“Stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about the efficacy of treatment contribute to these critical gaps in treatment provision,” Vladimir Poznyak, head of WHO’s unit for alcohol, drugs and addictive behaviours, told reporters.

Alcohol kills 2.6 million people annually, says WHO

AFP

International

Netanyahu: Israeli forces will move to Lebanon border as Rafah winds down

Published

1 day ago

June 25, 2024

Trends Admin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu: Israeli forces will move to Lebanon border as Rafah winds down

Israel’s prime minister has said the “intense phase” of fighting Hamas in Gaza is nearly over, allowing forces to move to the northern border with Lebanon to confront its ally Hezbollah.

In his first Israeli media interview since the start of the war in October, Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected the ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to be completed soon.

But he stressed that “doesn’t mean the war is about to end”, with action continuing until Hamas was completely driven from power.

Addressing the escalating hostilities with Hezbollah, which have raised fears of a wider regional war, he said: ″We can fight on several fronts and we are prepared to do that.”

Hezbollah has been launching missiles, rockets and drones into northern Israel in support of Hamas since the day after the 7 October attacks in southern Israel, when gunmen from Gaza killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others as hostages.

More than 37,620 people have been killed in Gaza during the military campaign that Israel launched in response, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Mr Netanyahu suggested in his interview with Israeli Channel 14 TV on Sunday that the seven-week Israeli operation in Rafah – which has displaced more than a million Palestinians – would be the last major offensive of the war.

“The intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah.”

Israeli forces would “continue mowing the grass all the time”, he added. “We will not give up.”

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Mr Netanyahu also said he was ready for a “partial deal” that would secure the release of the remaining 116 hostages still in captivity – 41 of whom are presumed dead – but that he was committed to completing “the goal of destroying Hamas”.

Hamas, which is demanding a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal as part of any deal, said the comment showed the prime minister’s “clear rejection” of the proposal outlined last month by US President Joe Biden and backed by the UN Security Council.

The first phase of the plan – which Mr Biden said had been put forward by Israel – would last six weeks and include a temporary ceasefire that would see the release of some of the hostages. The second phase would see all the other living hostages freed during a “permanent cessation of hostilities”, with the latter subject to further negotiations.

In a speech at Israel’s parliament on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said his “position has not changed” and that he remained “committed to the Israeli proposal welcomed by President Biden”.

Later, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released graphic video footage, filmed by Hamas gunmen, showing the abduction on 7 October of three of the remaining hostages – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Or Levy, 33, and Eliya Cohen, 26.

“We must approve and implement an agreement that will bring all hostages home – the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial!” the forum said.

Hamas also condemned the reported killing on Sunday of eight people in an Israeli air strike on a vocational college in Gaza City run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, which was being used as an aid distribution point. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said buildings were being used for military purposes by Hamas, which the group rejected as a “lie”.

The IDF announced on Monday that it had killed a Hamas commander responsible for projects and development at the group’s weapons manufacturing headquarters in an overnight air strike, without giving a location.

It also said troops were continuing to carry out raids in the Rafah area, and that they had located weapons, dismantled several underground tunnel shafts and eliminated “a number of armed terrorists”.

According to the IDF, chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi told troops in Rafah: “We are clearly approaching the point where we can say we have dismantled the Rafah Brigade, that it is defeated not in the sense that there are no more terrorists, but in the sense that it can no longer function as a fighting unit.”

Mr Netanyahu said that once the current phase of the Gaza war was over, Israeli forces would “face north”.

He stated that the redeployment of troops to the border with Lebanon would be “first and foremost for defensive purposes”, but that it would also allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by Hezbollah rocket and missile attacks to return home.

“If we can, we will do this diplomatically. If not, we will do it in another way. But we will bring all [the residents] home.”

Israel wants Hezbollah to agree to withdraw its fighters several kilometres back from the border, in line with a UN Security Council resolution passed at the end of their war in 2006. However, Hezbollah says there will be no ceasefire agreement before there is one in Gaza.

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In addition to forcing tens of thousands of residents in northern Israel to flee their homes, Hezbollah’s attacks have so far killed at least 25 people in Israel. The IDF has responded with air and artillery strikes in Lebanon, which the UN says have reportedly killed more than 400 people and displaced tens of thousands.

The cross-border exchanges have been intensifying in recent weeks, along with threats from both sides.

On Monday, the IDF said fighter jets had struck a number of Hezbollah “terror targets” in southern Lebanon overnight, including a military structure in Aitaroun and infrastructure in Kfarkela and Khiam.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said there had been an air strike on a house in Aitaroun and that no casualties were reported.

The IDF also said two Israeli reservists in a local security team had been injured, one seriously, by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack in the Israeli border town of Metula on Sunday night.

On Sunday, the chairman of the US military’s joint chiefs of staff warned that an Israeli offensive in Lebanon could “drive up the potential for a broader conflict” that draws in Iran and other Iran-backed groups.

“Hezbollah is more capable than Hamas as far as overall capability, number rockets and the like. And I would just say I would see Iran be more inclined to provide greater support to Hezbollah,” General CQ Brown told reporters.

He also said it would be “harder” for the US to defend Israel from attacks by Hezbollah than it was during Iran’s attack on Israel in April, when almost all of the drones and missiles it launched were intercepted.

His remarks came as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visited Washington to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and Hezbollah. Before leaving, Mr Gallant said Israel was “prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas”.

Last week, the IDF confirmed that operational plans for an offensive against Hezbollah had been approved and Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned that Hezbollah would be destroyed “in an all-out war”.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said it was not interested in a full-scale conflict, but that if one breaks out “there will be no place safe” in Israel.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said people in the region could “not afford Lebanon to become another Gaza”.