Saudi Arabia’s King Salman covers Eid Al-Adha sacrifice expenses for nearly 5,000 pilgrims

Saudi Arabia hosted 4,951 beneficiaries from 92 countries as part of The Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Program for Hajj and Umrah. (File/AFP)
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Updated 28 June 2023
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Saudi Arabia’s King Salman covers Eid Al-Adha sacrifice expenses for nearly 5,000 pilgrims

  • King Salman hailed the ‘solidarity and unity’ that the Hajj season brings

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will cover the costs of Eid Al-Adha sacrificial animals for 4,951 beneficiaries.

The Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Program for Hajj and Umrah this year hosted pilgrims from 92 countries to perform Hajj, including 1,000 families of those who died in Palestine, as well as those who were injured and held captive.

Other beneficiaries were 2,000 families of Saudis and Yemenis killed in action during Operation Decisive Storm, 280 Syrian pilgrims, 150 scholars from Yemen and 130 individuals from the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

In a tweet, King Salman hailed the ‘solidarity and unity’ that the Hajj season brings, as he conveyed Eid Al-Adha wishes to Muslims across the world.

 

 

“In Hajj, we are inspired by the meanings of solidarity, brotherhood, and unity that are manifested in the pilgrims, who have stood side by side to achieve one goal.”

He added, “With the advent of the blessed Eid Al-Adha, we pray to God to accept Hajj from the pilgrims, and to bring peace and prosperity for our country, the Islamic nation and the rest of the world.”
Muslims around the world commemorate Eid Al-Adha by sacrificing a sheep, goat or lamb and sharing the meat with with the poor, along with family members and friends.
The millions of Muslims performing Hajj sacrifice an animal on the third day of Hajj as a ritual.


Saudi, Pakistan defense chiefs discuss ‘measures needed to halt’ Iranian attacks on Kingdom

Updated 07 March 2026
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Saudi, Pakistan defense chiefs discuss ‘measures needed to halt’ Iranian attacks on Kingdom

RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Pakistan’s  Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir discussed Iran’s attacks on the Kingdom, amid the escalating military conflict in the Middle East. 

“We discussed Iranian attacks on the Kingdom and the measures needed to halt them within the framework of our Joint Strategic Defense Agreement,” Prince Khalid wrote on social media early on Saturday.

“We stressed that such actions undermine regional security and stability and expressed hope that the Iranian side will exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation.”

The US and Israel began a large-scale military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran has since attacked a number of sites across the Gulf.

Tehran has also attacked US and Israeli military assets as the war as escalated, impacting lives in the peaceful Arabian Gulf peninsula and risked shaking the global economy as Iran continued restricting energy shipping along the Strait of Hormuz.

The Saudi Defense Ministry said a number of drones had been shot down that were targeting the Shayba oil field in the Empty Quarter on Saturday.

A drone attacked the US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday causing a minor fire, but no one was hurt in the incident.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement”  in September, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both.

Separately, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, the Saudi interior minister, received a call from his Pakistani counterpart Raza Naqvi, who condemned the blatant attacks targeting the Kingdom and affirmed his country’s solidarity in confronting any threats to the Kingdom’s security and stability, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.