Middle East

Numbers of children requiring hospitalisation for complications due to severe malnutrition rising as WHO warns ‘health system is collapsing’.

More than 2,700 children below the age of five in Gaza have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, marking a steep increase in the number of children suffering from the serious medical condition since screening in February, the United Nations reports.

Of almost 47,000 under-fives screened for malnutrition in the second half of May, 5.8 percent (or 2,733 children) were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, “almost triple the proportion of children diagnosed with malnutrition” three months earlier, the UN said on Thursday.

The number of children with severe acute malnutrition requiring admission to hospital also increased by around double in May compared with earlier months, according to the report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to data from the Nutrition Cluster cited by OCHA, more than 16,500 children below the age of five have been detected and treated for severe acute malnutrition in Gaza since January, including 141 children with complications requiring hospitalisation.

Despite the increase in children suffering serious malnutrition and requiring hospitalisation, “there are currently only four stabilisation centres for the treatment of [severe acute malnutrition] with medical complications in the Gaza Strip,” the OCHA report states.

“Stabilisation centres in North Gaza and Rafah have been forced to suspend operations, leaving children in these areas without access to lifesaving treatment,” it adds.

The UN’s latest warning on the health of young children in Gaza comes as the Palestinian territory’s entire population deals with starvation, and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the enclave’s “health system is collapsing”.

Issuing an appeal for the “urgent protection” of two of Gaza’s last remaining hospitals, the WHO said the “Nasser Medical Complex, the most important referral hospital left in Gaza, and Al-Amal Hospital are at risk of becoming non-functional”.

“The relentless and systematic decimation of hospitals in Gaza has been going on for too long. It must end immediately,” the WHO said in a statement.

“WHO calls for urgent protection of Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital to ensure they remain accessible, functional and safe from attacks and hostilities,” it said.

“Patients seeking refuge and care to save their lives must not risk losing them trying to reach hospitals.”

UN experts, medical officials in Gaza, as well as medical charities, have long accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting health workers and medical facilities in Gaza in what has been described as a deliberate attempt to make conditions of life unliveable for the Palestinian population in the Strip.

WHO calls for urgent protection of Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital in the Gaza Strip

WHO warns that the #Gaza Strip’s health system is collapsing, with Nasser Medical Complex, the most important referral hospital left in Gaza, and Al-Amal Hospital at risk of becoming… pic.twitter.com/Rd3ZjASuBp

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 5, 2025

In 2010, Israeli forces stormed the Mavi Marmara, a ship in a flotilla trying to break the siege on Gaza. The raid left 10 people dead. Now, a new vessel, the Madleen, has set sail with the same mission – and the same risks. Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal witnessed the 2010 raid firsthand and reflects on its lasting impact.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country used armed gangs in Gaza to help fight Hamas, his admission coming after a new wave of military strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip that left at least 52 Palestinians dead.

Netanyahu said the government had “activated” powerful local clans in the enclave on the advice of “security officials”, his video statement posted to X on Thursday coming hours after former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused him of deploying the tactic.

The statement marked the government’s first public acknowledgement that it had backed the armed Palestinian groups based around powerful families, which stand accused by aid workers of carrying out criminal attacks and stealing aid from trucks as starvation stalks the entire territory due to a punishing Israeli blockade.

An Israeli official cited by news agency The Associated Press said that one of the groups Netanyahu was referring to was the so-called Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a local clan leader in Rafah.

Last month, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on the group’s activities – though it was named the “Anti-Terror Service” in the report – saying that sources in Gaza claimed it consisted of roughly 100 armed men operating with the tacit approval of the Israeli military.

In recent weeks, the Abu Shabab group announced online that its fighters were helping protect supply shipments to new US- and Israel-backed distribution centres run by the shadowy Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

“The Israeli opposition claims that there was no consultation within the Israeli government or the Israeli cabinet,” said Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan’s capital Amman. “Netanyahu says that these armed gangs … could essentially help the Israelis defeat Hamas in Gaza.”

“But it’s not going down well within Israel, where people are saying that these are armed criminal enterprises within the Gaza Strip. That they should not be armed and that these are Israeli weapons that are being put in their hands,” she said.

‘Human abattoir’

Netanyahu made his statement on another deadly day in Gaza, the military hitting targets throughout the besieged coastal enclave where the crippling blockade has brought the population to the brink of mass starvation.

Deadly incidents, killing more than 100 and wounding many more, at aid distribution sites run by the GHF since last week have sparked widespread condemnation, with Israeli troops opening fire on Palestinians seeking aid on four separate occasions since last week.

Chris Gunness, former spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), told Al Jazeera that the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had turned Gaza into a “human abattoir”.

“Hundreds of civilians are herded like animals into fenced-off pens and are slaughtered like cattle in the process,” he said.

Amid growing international condemnation, GHF shuttered operations for a full day on Wednesday, saying the next day that it would reopen two aid distribution centres in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. It did not say when aid distribution would resume.

At least 52 Palestinians were killed on Thursday, according to hospital sources who spoke to Al Jazeera. The sources said 31 bodies had arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, with 21 admitted to Gaza City’s al-Ahli Arab and al-Shifa hospitals.

Israel killed four journalists in an attack on al-Ahli Hospital itself, also known as the Baptist Hospital, in Gaza City

Gaza City local Fadi al-Hindi told Al Jazeera that he had seen one of the strikes on al-Nasser Street, near the al-Shifa Hospital, witnessing scenes of death after running outside his tent to check on his children.

“When I arrived, I saw a man in pieces; he had been riding a bicycle, and the lower half of his body was gone. Everyone in the street was injured, and we started to collect the pieces of the wounded,” he said.

At least three Palestinians were killed in the strike, reportedly including children.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa also reported five deaths in areas around Khan Younis, four west of Beit Lahiya in the north, and one south of Gaza City, as well as the injuring of a child near Bureij in central Gaza.

Wafa also reported that Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians trying to reach an aid centre near Wadi Gaza.

In the meantime, Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya has said in a prerecorded speech that the group did not reject a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, stating that it had instead requested some changes to ensure an end to the war.

Al-Hayya added that Hamas is ready to engage in further talks and that communications with the mediators are ongoing. Israel broke off a previous truce in March to resume the war in Gaza.

A series of Israeli strikes have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, almost an hour after the Israeli army issued a forced evacuation order to residents in areas that it says held underground facilities used by the Lebanese group Hezbollah for drone production.

The attack on Thursday is the fourth time Israel has bombed Beirut since a ceasefire with Hezbollah went into effect in November. It has carried out assassinations and announced strikes that it said targeted Hezbollah sites.

Israel has violated the ceasefire on a near-daily basis for seven months, according to the Lebanese government led by President Joseph Aoun, Arab nations, and rights groups. Aoun has recently appealed to the United States and France to rein Israel in.

Aoun, in a statement on Thursday after the strikes, voiced “firm condemnation of the Israeli aggression” and “flagrant violation of an international accord… on the eve of a sacred religious festival”.

Before the attacks, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had ordered residents living near buildings in the neighbourhoods of Hadath, Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh in the Dahiyeh suburbs to evacuate.

“You are next to infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah,” Adraee said in a social media post, which included a map of the eight buildings being targeted in four different locations. The message in Arabic indicated that Israel would soon bomb the area.

After the evacuation order, Lebanese media reported the area was nearly emptied of inhabitants, who had been preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha. It was sealed off as “warning strikes” could be heard, the reports said.

Later Thursday night, the Israeli military also warned residents of the southern Lebanese village of Ain Qana to stay away from two buildings that appear set to be targeted. Ain Qana is located to the east of the coastal city of Sidon.

‘A lot of panic’

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, in the immediate aftermath of the strikes said, “There was heavy traffic here as people were making their way out. As you can imagine, this did cause a lot of panic. This is not the first time the army has carried out air strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs since a ceasefire came into force last November, but this is the largest attack.”

Khodr said up to eight buildings were targeted in four densely populated neighbourhoods, adding that the magnitude of these air strikes, meant all the area’s residents had to flee.

Analyst Rami Khouri told Al Jazeera that the attack was “no surprise”, as Israel has been assassinating people over the last three, four months. They’ve continued occupying five places in South Lebanon after the ceasefire agreement.”

“The Israelis have always used military force as their main instrument to get their foes to submit to them,” he said.  “But the irony is that it hasn’t worked. It has only generated great dissent, and we’ll have to see in Lebanon what it means … Hezbollah took a hit last year, and they’re obviously regrouping,” he said. “We don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but they are regrouping,” he added.

Video verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency showed people hurrying away after the evacuation warning:

حركة نزوح كثيفة من الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت بعد تهديد الجيش الاسرائيلي pic.twitter.com/yuqA4giy4v

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) June 5, 2025

The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of manufacturing drones in the area in a “blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon”.

A Hezbollah official denied that there were drone production facilities at the targeted locations.

The Israeli military “will work to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens and prevent any attempt to reestablish the terrorist organization Hezbollah”, the military said.

“If you talk to people here, what they will tell you is that this is terrorism,” said Khodr, as “Israel warns people to leave in the middle of the night and on the eve of a major religious holiday.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also issued a statement condemning the strikes. He called on the international community to deter Israel from “continuing its aggressions” and compel it to fully withdraw from Lebanese territory.

The 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. The Lebanese government said in April that Israeli strikes had killed another 190 people and wounded nearly 500 since the ceasefire.

Gaza City – As the Madleen sails towards Gaza to try to deliver life-saving aid to its people, little is known about the woman the boat was named after: Madleen Kulab, Gaza’s only fisherwoman.

When Al Jazeera first met Madleen Kulab (also spelled Madelyn Culab) three years ago, she had two children, was expecting her third and lived a relatively quiet life in Gaza City with her husband, Khader Bakr, 32, also a fisherman.

Madleen, now 30, would sail fearlessly out as far as Israel’s gunship blockade would allow to bring back fish she could sell in a local market to support the family.

When Israel’s war on Gaza began, the family was terrified, then heartbroken when Israel killed Madleen’s father in an air strike near their home in November 2023.

They fled with Madleen nearly nine months pregnant to Khan Younis, then to Rafah, to Deir el-Balah and then Nuseirat.

Now, they are back in what remains of their home in Gaza City, a badly damaged space they returned to when the Israeli army allowed displaced people to head back north in January.

Responsibility and pride

Madleen sits on a battered sofa in her damaged living room, three of her four children sitting with her: baby Waseela, one, on her lap; five-year-old Safinaz beside her; and three-year-old Jamal – the baby she was expecting when Al Jazeera first met her – at the end.

She talks about what it felt like to hear from an Irish activist friend that the ship trying to break the blockade on Gaza would be named after her.

“I was deeply moved. I felt an enormous sense of responsibility and a little pride,” she says with a smile.

“I’m grateful to these activists who have devoted themselves, left their lives and comforts behind, and stood with Gaza despite all the risks,” she says of the group of 12 activists, who include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.

“This is the highest form of humanity and self-sacrifice in the face of danger.”

Khader sits on another sofa with six-year-old Sandy. He holds out his phone with a photo of the Madleen on it, flying the Palestinian flag.

Madleen has been fishing since she was 15, a familiar figure heading out on her father’s boat, getting to know all the other fishermen and also becoming well-known to international solidarity activists.

In addition to bringing home the fish, Madleen is also a skilled cook, preparing seasonal fish dishes that were so famously tasty that she had a list of clients waiting to buy them from her. Especially popular were the dishes made with Gaza’s ubiquitous sardines.

But now, she can’t fish any more and neither can Khader because Israel destroyed their boats and an entire storage room full of fishing gear during the war.

“We’ve lost everything – the fruit of a lifetime,” she says.

But her loss is not just about income. It’s about identity – her deep connection to the sea and fishing. It’s even about the simple joy of eating fish, which she used to enjoy “10 times a week”.

“Now fish is too expensive if you can find it at all. Only a few fishermen still have any gear left, and they risk their lives just to catch a little,” she says.

“Everything has changed. We now crave fish in the middle of this famine we’re living through.”

Sleeping on a bare floor, newborn in her arms

After the air strike near the family home in November 2023, Madleen’s family’s first displacement was to Khan Younis, following Israeli army instructions that they would be safer there.

After searching for shelter, they ended up in a small apartment with 40 other displaced relatives, and then Madleen went into labour.

“It was a difficult, brutal birth. No pain relief, no medical care. I was forced to leave the hospital right after giving birth. There were no beds available because of the overwhelming number of wounded,” she says.

When she returned to the shelter, things were just as dire. “We didn’t have a mattress or even a blanket, neither me nor the kids,” she said.

“I had to sleep on the floor with my newborn baby. It was physically exhausting.”

She then had to tend to four children in an enclave where baby formula, diapers and even the most basic food items were almost impossible to find.

The war, she says, has reshaped her understanding of suffering and hardship.

In 2022, she and Khader were struggling to make ends meet between Israel’s gunship blockade and the frequent destruction of their boats. There was also the added burden of being a mother with small children and undertaking such physically taxing work.

But now, things have gotten far worse.

“There’s no such thing as ‘difficult’ any more. Nothing compares to the humiliation, hunger and horror we’ve seen in this war,” she says.

A ship named Madleen

Throughout the war, Madleen remained in touch with international friends and solidarity activists she had met through the years.

“I would share my reality with them,” she says.

“They came to understand the situation through me. They felt like family.”

Her friends abroad offered both emotional and financial support, and she is grateful for them, saying they made her feel that Gaza wasn’t forgotten, that people still cared.

She is also grateful for being remembered in the naming of the Madleen, but she worries that Israeli authorities will not let the ship reach Gaza, citing past attempts that were intercepted.

“Intercepting the ship would be the least of it. What’s more worrying is the possibility of a direct assault like what happened to the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010 when several people were killed.”

Regardless of what happens, Madleen believes the mission’s true message has already been delivered.

“This is a call to break the global silence, to draw the world’s attention to what’s happening in Gaza. The blockade must end, and this war must stop immediately.”

“This is also a message of hope for me. They may have bombed my boat, but my name will remain – and it will sail across the sea.”

Lula criticises Israel during Paris visit, as German FM voices rare criticism of onslaught in Gaza and West Bank settlements.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel of carrying out “premeditated genocide” in Gaza during a visit to Paris, as it emerged the military had killed at least 52 people in its latest onslaught in the besieged coastal enclave where a crippling blockade is fuelling starvation.

“What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It’s a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children,” said Lula at a joint news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

“[It is] a premeditated genocide from a far-right government that is waging a war, including against the interests of its own people,” he said of Israel’s 20-month offensive, which has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians so far, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

At least 52 people were killed on Thursday, including women and children, according to medical sources, who spoke to Al Jazeera, amid growing concern about deadly incidents at aid distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since last week.

While Lula has previously used the term “genocide” to characterise Israel’s actions in Gaza, Macron has reserved judgement, saying last month that it was not for a “political leader to use the term, but up to historians to do so when the time comes”.

The Brazilian leader’s condemnation of Israel’s offensive came as German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told his visiting Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave in accordance with “prevailing international law”.

Last week, Wadephul had said Germany was assessing “whether what is happening in Gaza is in line with international law” and that arms sales to Israel would be evaluated on this basis.

Wadephul also said he was “concerned about the extremely tense situation in the West Bank”, decrying the Israeli government’s announcement that it would allow 22 more settlements in the occupied territory, saying it threatened the two-state solution further.

On Thursday, King Abdullah of Jordan praised Spain for recognising Palestine and calling for an end to the war in Gaza during a meeting with King Felipe in Madrid. He said work was underway to gain European support.

Jordan’s state news agency Petra cited him as saying work was under way to harness European support for an Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents, as threatened by US President Donald Trump this year.

Israel’s international allies are growing louder in their condemnation of its war on Gaza and its continued construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

United Nations experts, human rights groups and legal scholars have all previously told Al Jazeera that Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza and committing abuses that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank.

And yet less than two weeks after receiving a stern warning from its Western allies, Israel approved 22 illegal settlements in the West Bank, amounting to what has been described as the largest land grab since Israeli and Palestinian leaders inked the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993.

“Israel is all about showing [the world] who calls the shots. They are saying … you can condemn us all you want, but in the end, you will bow down to us and not the other way around,” said Diana Buttu, a legal scholar and political analyst focused on Israel and Palestine.

The Oslo Accords were ostensibly aimed at creating a Palestinian state, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.

However, in practice, Israel has continued to expand illegal settlements and render the two-state solution impossible, analysts told Al Jazeera.

Troubling pattern

Israel has often announced the building of new illegal settlements in response to signals of support for Palestinian statehood from the UN or its allies.

In 2012, Israel went so far as to approve 3,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank after the Palestinian Authority (PA) – the entity created out of the Oslo Accords to govern swaths of the West Bank – was granted non-member observer status in the UN General Assembly.

Last year, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, warned that a new illegal settlement would be built for every country that recognises a Palestinian state.

The announcement came after Spain, Norway, and Ireland took the symbolic step in May 2024.

“I certainly think there is a pattern where Israel responds to pressure regarding its occupation – or anything else – by announcing settler expansion,” said Omar Rahman, an expert focused on Israel and Palestine for the Middle East Council for Global Affairs.

“We see that pattern repeated over and over again,” he told Al Jazeera.

As global pressure mounts against Israel’s war on Gaza, Israel has continued to test the patience of its allies.

On May 21, Israeli troops fired warning shots at a group of European, Asian and Arab diplomats who were on an official mission to assess the humanitarian crisis in Jenin refugee camp, which has been subjected to a months-long attack and siege by the Israeli army since the start of the year.

“I don’t know where the red line is. It is clear that there is no red line,” said Buttu.

Justifying inaction

After Zionist militias ethnically cleansed some 750,000 Palestinians to make way for the state of Israel in 1948 – an event referred to as the “Nakba” or catastrophe – Israel has increasingly annexed and occupied the little that remains of Palestinian land.

Annexation of the occupied West Bank has accelerated in recent years thanks to far-right settlers who occupy positions in the Israeli government, said Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.

He believes Israel was always planning to approve the 22 illegal settlements irrespective of the joint statement issued by France, the UK and Canada, as it fit in with the state’s ultimate goal of expanding Jewish settlement of the occupied West Bank.

“Nobody can really think that if those countries didn’t issue an announcement that [further] annexation wasn’t going to happen. Of course, it was going to happen,” he told Al Jazeera.

Rahman, from the Middle East Council, believes Israel’s tactic of announcing pre-planned settlement expansion in the face of Western pressure simply aims to dissuade its allies from taking concrete action.

He suspects Canada, the UK and France will likely not slap on targeted sanctions against Israeli officials, as they have threatened to do, instead using the argument that any moves against Israel will lead to a backlash against Palestinians.

“[Canada, UK and France] may say they are acting for the preservation of the two-state solution by not doing anything to save the two-state solution,” Rahman told Al Jazeera.

Analysts believe that sanctions on Israel would be the only way to rescue the two-state solution and end Israel’s war on Gaza, but accept that comprehensive sanctions against the Israeli state would still be unlikely at this stage.

Instead, Western countries like Canada, France and the UK may target sanctions at the far-right ministers most associated with pro-settler policies, Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“These men … are trying to jam in everything they can do now because they know there is no guarantee they will maintain their positions of power indefinitely,” Elgindy told Al Jazeera.

Buttu fears that European countries will merely resort to more symbolic measures such as “recognising Palestine”, which will have little impact on the ground.

“By the time everyone gets around to recognising Palestine, there won’t be any land [for Palestinians] left,” she told Al Jazeera.

The Netherlands is still supporting the supply chain of Israel’s version of the F-35 fighter jet, more than a year after a court banned direct Dutch exports of F-35 parts to Israel, a report claims.

Research by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) shared with Al Jazeera shows that the port of Rotterdam is frequented by ships carrying F-35 parts for maintenance and assembly. The ships belong to the Danish shipping giant Maersk.

By examining import data and shipping receipts of Maersk and Lockheed Martin – the United States weapons manufacturer that designed the F-35 – the group found that more than a dozen shipments from Israel travelled through the port of Rotterdam on their way to the US from April 2023 until early 2025.

The F-35 fighter jet has been used by Israel to bomb Gaza from the air with devastating effect. Much of the Strip, where more than 50,000 people have been killed since October 2023, is in ruins.

“Maersk now operates a recurring shipping cycle between Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility in Texas and Israel Aerospace Industries in Israel, routed through Rotterdam,” the report stated. “In this cycle, Maersk transports pairs of empty F-35 wing containers from Houston to Ashdod, Israel, where they are loaded with completed F-35 wings. The filled containers are then shipped back to the US for final assembly or repair.”

The researchers noted that Rotterdam is a “key stopover point in this process, and shipments for this cycle have occurred beyond February of 2024”.

Then, a judge at a Dutch appeals court ordered the Netherlands to stop exporting and transiting F-35 parts to Israel, saying there was a “clear risk” they were being used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law”.

The Dutch state immediately lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court, but until a decision is made, it is still bound by the lower court’s ruling.

“The findings in the report show that the port of Rotterdam plays an important role in sustaining the operational capacities of Israel’s F-35 fighter jets. This way, the port of Rotterdam is complicit to international law violations in Gaza,” Gerard Jonkman, director of a Dutch NGO, The Rights Forum, told Al Jazeera.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry told Al Jazeera that the court had subsequently confirmed that the judgement in February 2024 applied only to the export or transit of F-35 parts from the Netherlands to Israel and that the Dutch state had implemented the judgement accordingly.

A spokesperson for the port of Rotterdam told Al Jazeera that the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs was responsible for issuing permits for the transhipment of military goods. Port officials check vessel compliance with environmental and safety regulations for shipping on behalf of the government and municipality of Rotterdam, they said.

“The harbour master receives only limited information regarding vessel cargo. The information received mainly pertains to whether the vessel is carrying hazardous substances. Other aspects of vessel cargo are monitored by various other public authorities, such as customs.”

They said they were “aware” of the February 2024 court ruling.

“All activities in the port must comply with international laws and regulations and the permits issued by the government. If we see any indication that this is not the case, the Port of Rotterdam Authority alerts the competent authority.”

‘The Netherlands is still part of the supply chain’

The Rights Forum was one of three parties, together with the Dutch affiliate of Oxfam and PAX for Peace, the largest peace organisation in the Netherlands, that sued the Dutch state over its export of F-35 parts to Israel.

“In this case, there is no direct export from the Netherlands to Israel, but the Netherlands is still part of the supply chain for the Israeli F-35 programme,” Gerard Jonkman, head of the Rights Forum, said of the Palestinian Youth Movement’s findings. “This way the Netherlands facilitates the Israeli F-35 programme and might breach its obligations under international law.”

PAX for Peace project leader Frank Slijper told Al Jazeera: “This indeed shows that the Netherlands is part of the F-35 supply chain.”

A grassroots organisation, the Palestinian Youth Movement believes that targeting Maersk directly disrupts the flow of weapons in the “supply chain of death used to genocide Palestinians”.

According to the group, Maersk has shipped the wings for every Israeli F-35 since March 2022.

In November 2024, following a decision by Spain to deny docking permission to two ships carrying weapons bound for Israel, Maersk adjusted its routes. The company’s fleet now avoids Spain in favour of Rotterdam and the port of Tangier in Morocco

“Maersk has, for years, knowingly supplied the Israeli military with key weapons components used to carry out genocide in Gaza,” Aisha Nizar of the Palestinian Youth Movement told Al Jazeera. “The company has done so without hesitation, potentially violating multiple arms embargo policies across Europe.”

The F-35 is considered a top-of-the-line fighter jet. The aircraft designed by Lockheed Martin costs at least $80m in its most basic configuration.

Currently, 12 countries operate the jet. F-35 parts are made in the United States and several participating partner countries, giving the project the moniker Joint Strike Fighter.

“It is very sad to see that Maersk is not distancing itself from Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza and more broadly continues lending itself to the crucial replenishment of Israel’s armed forces,” Slijper said. “Shipping military supplies for the benefit of Israel’s arms industry and the [Israeli army] risks Maersk being complicit in Israel’s crimes.”

The use of the jet by Israel, the only country with its unique version of the F-35, has been scrutinised since the start of the onslaught in Gaza.

Recently, campaign groups took the United Kingdom government to court in a bid to halt the exports of British-made F-35 parts to Israel.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Lockheed Martin said: “Foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions, and we closely adhere to US government policy with regard to conducting business with international partners.”

Regarding F-35 shipments, Maersk told Al Jazeera that it upholds a strict policy of not shipping weapons or ammunition to active conflict zones and that it conducted due diligence, particularly in regions affected by active conflicts, including Israel and Gaza, and adapts this due diligence to the changing context. It confirmed, however, that its US subsidiary Maersk Line Limited was one of “many companies supporting the global F-35 supply chain” with transport services.

The F-35 programme includes several coalition countries, including Israel.

“As part of the coalition-building of the F-35, Maersk Line Limited regularly transports parts between participating countries, including Israel, where F-35 wings are manufactured,” it said.

Eid al-Adha is celebrated on the third day of Hajj. Here’s how to say ‘Eid Mubarak’ in different languages.

Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, is observed on the third day of Hajj, which falls on the 10th of Dhul-Hijja, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar.

Eid al-Adha is the second major festival in the Islamic calendar, celebrated roughly 70 days after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

When is Eid al-Adha?

This year, the first day of Eid al-Adha falls on June 6 in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries, while some other countries will mark it on June 7.

There are about 1.9 billion Muslims around the world, approximately 25 percent of the world population. Indonesia has the world’s highest Muslim population, with some 230 million Muslims living in the country. Pakistan is second with about 212 million Muslims, followed by India (200 million), Bangladesh (150 million) and Nigeria (100 million).

What happens during Eid al-Adha?

In the days leading up to Eid al-Adha, Muslims prepare by preparing their homes, buying new clothes and planning special meals for the occasion.

On the first day of Eid, those who are financially able are required to sacrifice an animal – usually a sheep, goat, cow, or camel – and distribute a portion of the meat to the less fortunate. This act commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s (Ibrahim) willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmail (Ismael) in obedience to God.

The rest of the holiday is spent visiting family and friends, exchanging greetings and gifts, and sharing festive meals.

Eid greetings in different languages

The most common greeting is Eid Mubarak. The Arabic saying translates to “blessed Eid”.

Here is how people say Eid Mubarak in different languages around the world.

Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is a religious obligation involving rituals and acts of worship that every Muslim must fulfil if they have the financial means and are physically able to do so.

More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj, according to a government spokesperson on Wednesday. Hajj Ministry spokesperson Ghassan al-Nuwaimi provided an approximate number for foreigners at this year’s pilgrimage, though he did not specify how many domestic pilgrims were participating. Last year, there were 1,611,310 pilgrims from outside the country.

On Wednesday, worshippers streamed into Arafat, with some undertaking the journey on foot and carrying their luggage in temperatures nudging 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

According to traditional sayings of the prophet, the Day of Arafat is the most sacred day of the year, when God draws near to the faithful and forgives their sins.

Mount Arafat, a rocky hill southeast of Mecca, holds immense significance in Islam. Arafat is mentioned in the Quran and it is where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have given his last sermon on his final Hajj.

Pilgrims remain in Arafat, in prayer and reflection, from after midnight until after sunset.

After sunset, they will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles so they can perform the symbolic “stoning of the devil”.

Saudi Arabia has spent millions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures, but the sheer volume of participants continues to pose challenges. In recent years, one of the greatest difficulties has been the high temperatures.

Earlier this week, Health Minister Fahad bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel stated, “10,000 trees have been planted to provide more shade, there is increased hospital bed capacity, and the number of paramedics has tripled.”

Authorities have urged pilgrims to remain inside their tents between 10am (07:00 GMT) and 4pm (13:00 GMT) on Thursday when the desert sun is at its harshest. To combat the heat, fans spraying mist and providing cool air have been placed at the foot of the mount.

IAEA head Grossi describes the new government as ‘committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation’.

Syria’s new government has agreed to give inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to suspected former nuclear sites immediately, according to the agency’s chief, as Damascus makes further inroads to rejoining the international fold.

Rafael Grossi, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog’s director-general, was speaking Wednesday to The Associated Press news agency in Damascus, where he met with President Ahmed al-Sharaa and other officials.

The visit was a key part of the IAEA’s efforts to restore access to sites associated with Syria’s nuclear programme since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

The agency’s aim is “to bring total clarity over certain activities that took place in the past that were, in the judgement of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons”, Grossi said. He described the new government as “committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation” and said he is hopeful of finishing the inspection process within months.

Grossi’s visit also marks another step towards international acceptance of Syria’s new government after the United States and European Union lifted sanctions on the country last month. Israel has taken an opposite approach to its Western allies, launching more than 200 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria over the past six months, despite the two countries holding indirect talks in early May.

An IAEA team visited some sites of interest last year. Syria under al-Assad is believed to have operated an extensive clandestine nuclear programme, which included an undeclared nuclear reactor built by North Korea in eastern Deir ez-Zor province.

The IAEA described the reactor as being “not configured to produce electricity” — raising the concern that Damascus sought a nuclear weapon there by producing weapons-grade plutonium.

The reactor site only became public knowledge after Israel, the region’s only nuclear power, launched air strikes in 2007, destroying the facility. Syria later levelled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA’s questions.

Grossi said inspectors plan to return to the reactor in Deir az Zor and three other related sites. Other sites under IAEA safeguards include a miniature neutron source reactor in Damascus and a facility in Homs that can process yellow-cake uranium.

While there are no indications that there have been releases of radiation from the sites, Grossi said, the watchdog is concerned that “enriched uranium can be lying somewhere and could be reused, could be smuggled, could be trafficked”.

He said al-Sharaa had shown a “very positive disposition to talk to us and to allow us to carry out the activities we need to”.

Grossi revealed that the IAEA is also prepared to transfer equipment for nuclear medicine and help rebuild the radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and oncology infrastructure in a health system severely weakened by nearly 14 years of civil war.

“And the president has expressed to me he’s interested in exploring, in the future, nuclear energy as well,” Grossi added.

A number of other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, are pursuing nuclear energy in some form.

The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that called for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as Israeli strikes across the enclave have killed nearly 100 Palestinians in the past 24 hours amid a crippling aid blockade.

The US was the only country to vote against the measure on Wednesday while the 14 other members of the council voted in favour.

The resolution also called for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza, but Washington said it was a “non-starter” because the ceasefire demand is not directly linked to the release of captives.

In remarks before the start of the voting, Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea made her country’s opposition to the resolution, put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council, painfully clear, which she said “should come as no surprise”.

“The United States has taken the very clear position since this conflict began that Israel has the right to defend itself, which includes defeating Hamas and ensuring they are never again in a position to threaten Israel,” she told the council.

China’s Ambassador Fu Cong said Israel’s actions have “crossed every red line” of international humanitarian law and seriously violated UN resolutions. “Yet, due to the shielding by one country, these violations have not been stopped or held accountable.”

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara noted that the US veto makes it “so isolated.”

“Clearly there is a gathering storm … with so many countries” that are standing against the US at the UNSC. “It’s only the US that is trying to block this converging and rising current against Israel and what it’s doing in Gaza … Israel is not defending itself in Gaza, Israel is defending its occupation and siege in Gaza,” Bishara added.

‘Open the crossings’

Despite global demands for a truce, Israel has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, insisting Hamas cannot stay in power, nor in Gaza. It has expanded its military assault in Gaza, killing and wounding thousands more Palestinians and maintaining a brutal blockade on the enclave, only allowing a trickle of tightly-controlled aid in where a famine looms.

At least 95 Palestinians have been killed on Wednesday and more than 440 injured, according to health officials in Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said, “There has been a clear surge of attacks.” He said there were relentless Israeli strikes there in central Gaza and throughout the territory.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military warned starving Palestinians against approaching roads to the US-backed aid distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), saying the areas will be “considered combat zones” while it halted aid for a whole day.

That move came after Israeli forces opened fire at aid seekers several times, killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more since the GHF started operating on May 27.

Witnesses said Israeli soldiers opened fire on crowds that massed before dawn to seek food on Tuesday. Images of starving Palestinians scrambling for paltry aid packages, herded in cage-like lines and then coming under fire have caused global outrage.

The Israeli military admitted it shot at aid seekers on Tuesday, but claimed that they opened fire when “suspects” deviated from a stipulated route.

At a hospital in southern Gaza, the family of Reem al-Akhras, who was killed in Israel’s mass shooting on Tuesday, mourned her death.

“She went to bring us some food, and this is what happened to her,” her son Zain Zidan said through tears. Her husband, Mohamed Zidan, said “every day unarmed people” are being killed. “This is not humanitarian aid – it’s a trap.”

The new aid distribution process – currently from just three sites – has been widely criticised by rights groups and the UN, who say it does not adhere to humanitarian principles. They also say the aid model, which uses private US security and logistics workers, militarises aid.

Ahead of the UNSC vote, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher again appealed for the UN and aid groups to be allowed to assist people in Gaza, stressing that they have a plan, supplies and experience.

“Open the crossings – all of them. Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren’t held up by delays and denials,” Fletcher said in a statement.

The UN has long blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid and its distribution in Gaza. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group vehemently denies, and the World Food Programme says there is no evidence to support that allegation.

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesman James Elder, currently in Gaza, described the “horrors” he witnessed within just 24 hours. Speaking from al-Mawasi, Elder told Al Jazeera that Gaza’s hospitals and streets are filled with malnourished children. “I’m seeing teenage boys in tears, showing me their ribs,” he said, noting that children were pleading for food.

The UNSC has voted on 14 Gaza-related resolutions and approved four since the war began in October 2023. Wednesday’s vote was the first since November 2024.

Hamas is still holding 58 captives, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in previous short-lived ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel’s war on Gaza has turbocharged its already booming military-tech industry, with weapons and surveillance systems tested on Palestinians continuing to be sold around the world. Israel’s role as a global arms innovator has only deepened since October 7, 2023, and some governments and corporations are profiting.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed trying to get aid at distribution centres run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation over the past eight days. This is a timeline of the key events that led to the UN labelling it a ‘death trap’.

The US president says Putin also suggested he would participate in talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Donald Trump in a telephone conversation that Moscow would have to respond to the recent Ukrainian drone attacks, the US president said.

Trump said on Wednesday that the two men “discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.”

Putin “did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields”, Trump said in a social media post.

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said that Trump described his 85-minute phone call with Putin as “a good conversation but not one that would lead to immediate peace”.

“You have to remember that Donald Trump, when he came into office, was very confident that he could end this war on day one, but here we are now in June and the fact is … this is far from resolved,” she said from the White House.

Moscow said earlier on Wednesday that military options were “on the table” for its response to Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and accused the West of being involved in them.

Russia also urged the US and Britain to restrain Kyiv after the attacks, which Ukrainian officials have lauded as showing Kyiv can still fight back after more than three years of war.

British and US officials have said they had no prior knowledge of the weekend attacks on Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers.

In his social media post, Trump said he and Putin also discussed Iran. Putin suggested he would participate in talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal with Tehran, Trump said.

“I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,” Trump said. He accused Iran of “slow-walking” decisions regarding the talks.

Putin told Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian that Moscow was ready to help advance talks on a nuclear deal, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier on Wednesday that Washington’s proposal was against Tehran’s national interests, amid sharp differences over whether Tehran can continue to enrich uranium.

Rally is held as British PM Keir Starmer calls Israel’s actions ‘intolerable’, addressing lawmakers in Parliament.

Pro-Palestine campaigners have rallied against Israel’s punishing war on Gaza, gathering outside the British Parliament in London and demanding a full arms embargo and that hard-hitting sanctions be imposed on the Israeli government.

Wednesday’s march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took weekly questions from parliamentarians.

Thousands of protesters created a “Red Line for Palestine”, wearing red while encircling the building.

Starmer told Parliament that Israel’s actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are “appalling” and “intolerable”.

“It is right to describe these days as dark,” Starmer said. “We have strongly opposed the expansion of Israeli military operations, and settler violence, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.”

Starmer added that the UK has imposed sanctions, suspended free trade negotiations, and is currently considering further sanctions.

But the UK leader, his Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and his government have come under heavy criticism in the UK for not speaking more forcefully backed by actual action earlier in the war, and for not doing enough now as Palestinians face what United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the “cruellest phase of this cruel conflict”.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the protest went on for several hours and throughout Starmer’s entire speech to Parliament.

“There was a red line around the whole of Parliament,” Challands said.

“These protesters had formed a cordon, essentially all the way down from Parliament to the first bridge … that goes across to the other side of the [River] Thames, and they came back up … and returned over Westminster Bridge to join up here to make a full loop,” he added.

According to Challands, protesters say that their “red line” is to show that the UK government should have its own red lines when it comes to Gaza.

It has not had “sufficient” red lines in place, he said. “The protesters say there should have been red lines before 54,000 deaths.”

In his remarks, Starmer also called for an end to the siege and said humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly and in the required quantities.

Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory, barring the entry of much-needed aid, including food, medicine, clean water, and fuel required by generators. A famine now looms as more than two million people are facing starvation, the UN has warned.

Meanwhile, a controversial, United States-backed group that runs aid distribution points in Gaza – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – has suspended operations for a full day. The move came after Israeli forces opened fire at hungry aid seekers several times, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27.

The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage as many say aid is being weaponised and with the UN’s Guterres demanding an independent inquiry.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians and wounded 125,341, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since December 2024, averaging one every three to four days.

The Israeli military says it shelled targets in Syria in response to a pair of projectiles that fell in open areas in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday.

Since December 10, 2024, just two days after the stunning collapse of more than 53 years of the al-Assad family, Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria’s military infrastructure, including major airports, air defence facilities, fighter jets and other strategic infrastructure.

Over the past six months, Israeli forces have launched more than 200 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria, averaging an assault roughly every three to four days, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED).

The map below shows the ACLED-recorded Israeli attacks between December 8 and May 30.

The bulk of the Israeli attacks have been concentrated in the southern Syrian governorates of Deraa, Damascus and Quneitra, which account for nearly 60 percent of all recorded Israeli attacks.

• Deraa was the most targeted governorate, with 57 recorded attacks, focusing on former regime military sites and suspected arms convoys.
• Damascus governorate, which hosts key military highways and logistics hubs, was attacked at least 49 times. Whereas Damascus city, the capital was attacked 18 times.
• Quneitra, adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, was attacked at least 25 times; many attacks were aimed at radar and surveillance infrastructure.

Israel’s movement on the ground

In the immediate aftermath of al-Assad’s ouster, Israeli troops advanced into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, including areas within the United Nations-monitored demilitarised zone, violating the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.

The incursion drew widespread international criticism. The UN, along with several Arab nations, condemned Israel’s actions as breaches of international law and violations of Syria’s sovereignty.

Despite these condemnations, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in February that Israeli forces would remain in the area indefinitely to “protect Israeli citizens” and “prevent hostile entities from gaining a foothold” near the border.

Satellite imagery captured in February and analysed by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit showed six military bases were being constructed in the UN-supervised buffer zone on the border with Syria.

Since taking power following the overthrow of al-Assad, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has consistently stated that his government seeks no conflict with Israel and will not permit Syria to be used by foreign actors to launch attacks.

He has condemned Israel’s continuing strikes on Syrian territory and its gradual expansion beyond the already-occupied Golan Heights.

A history of Israeli air strikes on Syria

While Israel’s air attacks on Syria have escalated in recent months, Israel has been attacking targets in Syria for years.

ACLED data collected since January 2017 shows how Israeli attacks have been steadily increasing.

The animated chart below shows the frequency of Israeli attacks from January 2017 to May 2025.

There was confusion and panic on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on Tuesday night after a drone was spotted circling overhead, prompting the crew to issue a distress signal while sailing outside Greek territorial waters. The drone was later identified as belonging to the Hellenic Coastguard. The Gaza-bound mission continues undeterred, a month after another flotilla ship was bombed by a drone and set ablaze.

The Hajj pilgrimage began on Wednesday. Some 1.8 million Muslims from across the globe are expected to gather in the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the annual gathering that will conclude on June 8.

Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for all adult Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey.

Throughout the sacred pilgrimage, pilgrims drink from Zamzam, a wellspring believed to have been flowing for more than 4,000 years, nourishing them to this day.

But where does this water come from, and why does it hold such deep significance?

Where is the Zamzam well located?

Zamzam water comes from a well, located within the Grand Mosque of Mecca (Masjid al-Haram), some 21 metres (69 feet) east of the Kaaba.

The Zamzam well is beneath the Mataf area, which is the white marble-tiled space surrounding the Kaaba where pilgrims perform Tawaf.

In 1962, King Saud commissioned the expansion of the Mataf area to better accommodate the growing number of pilgrims. As part of this project, the opening of the Zamzam well was lowered and enclosed in a basement approximately 2.7 metres (9 feet) deep beneath the Mataf.

In 2003, the basement entrances were closed, and drinking fountains were relocated to the sides of the Mataf to allow for further expansion.

Today, pilgrims access Zamzam water through dispensers and fountains spread throughout the Grand Mosque.

Why is Zamzam important to Hajj and Umrah?

Zamzam water is deeply connected to the origins of Mecca and the story of Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim), his wife Hagar (Hajar), and their son Ishmael (Ismail).

According to Islamic tradition, Prophet Abraham left Hagar and baby Ishmael in the desert valley of Mecca by God’s command as a test of faith.

When their provisions ran out, Hagar ran back and forth seven times between the two small hills of Safa and Marwa searching for water.

God responded to her faith and struggle with a miracle: water began to gush from the ground near baby Ishmael’s feet – this became the Zamzam well.

This spring saved their lives and led to the settlement of Mecca, which today has a population of about 2.2 million.

During Hajj and Umrah, pilgrims re-enact Hagar’s search for water by walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa in the ritual of Sa’i and drink Zamzam water following the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, who praised its purity and healing qualities.

What does Zamzam mean?

According to Islamic tradition, when the Zamzam spring miraculously gushed forth near baby Ishmael’s feet, Hagar tried to contain the water, fearing it would run out.

She is said to have exclaimed “Zamzam”, which is often understood to mean “stop! stop!” or “hold! hold!” as she tried to stop the water from flowing away by gathering it around the spring.

What is the source of the Zamzam aquifer?

Zamzam water comes from a natural underground source beneath the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The well draws water from an aquifer, a layer of rock and sand that holds water, which is refilled by rainwater that seeps in from the surrounding Ibrahim Valley (Wadi Ibrahim) and nearby hills.

The Zamzam well is about 31 metres (101 feet) deep and was originally hand-dug. Water enters the well through loose sand and gravel in the top part, and also from cracks in the solid rock below.

Today, electric pumps bring the water up instead of the old rope-and-bucket method. The well itself is now closed to the public, but the water is available through fountains and dispensers around the Grand Mosque.

The Zamzam well is considered to have flowed uninterrupted for more than 4,000 years. The continuous flow of water and its central role in Hajj and Umrah have been well-documented for centuries.

According to the General Authority for the Care & Management of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, extraction and consumption of Zamzam vary by season:

• On regular days:
  Water supply: At least 950,400 litres (251,000 US gallons) daily
  Consumption: About 700,000 litres (185,000 US gallons) daily
• During peak seasons (Hajj and Ramadan):
  Water supply: Up to 1.6 million litres (423,000 US gallons) daily
  Consumption: Can reach 2 million litres (528,000 US gallons) daily due to the surge in pilgrims

According to the Saudi visa office, ​​Mecca is expecting to welcome 15 million Umrah pilgrims in 2025.

To manage this demand, the Zamzam well is monitored in real time using digital sensors that track water level, pH (potential of hydrogen; a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid), temperature, and conductivity. Additional monitoring wells across Wadi Ibrahim help assess how the entire aquifer responds to water use and rainfall.

The Zamzam Studies and Research Centre (ZSRC) estimates how much water can be safely extracted and advises the Grand Mosque authority on sustainable pumping levels. Each year, the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) issues a pumping schedule, with peak demand during Ramadan and Dhul-Hijjah and the lowest in Muharram.

If water levels fall below a set threshold, pumping is paused to allow the well to recover, ensuring a stable, long-term supply.

How is Zamzam different from tap water?

Zamzam water is clear and odourless, but it has a distinct taste due to its rich mineral content. It is slightly alkaline, with a pH between 7.9 and 8.0, higher than regular drinking water.

A study by King Saud University found no biological contamination or algae in Zamzam water, which are common in other wells and can affect taste and safety.

The minerals in Zamzam water offer several health benefits:

• Fluoride: Helps prevent tooth decay, especially important in hot climates.
• Calcium and magnesium: Present in higher amounts. Calcium is in an ionic form, making it easier for the body to absorb.
• Sodium and potassium: Support hydration, nerve function and muscle health.

Overall, the total mineral count for Zamzam is 835mg/litre compared with Riyadh’s tap water at 350mg/litre.

How is Zamzam distributed?

The Saudi government prohibits the sale of Zamzam water for commercial purposes and strictly regulates its distribution to ensure it is provided as a sacred gift to pilgrims and not exploited for profit.

Pilgrims returning from Hajj or Umrah often bring back a 5-litre bottle of Zamzam water to share with family and friends back home. Because Zamzam water is considered a special gift, airlines typically do not include it in the regular luggage allowance, so pilgrims often carry it separately or follow specific guidelines when transporting it home.

Shipping Zamzam water through Saudi airports is simple and convenient—just follow the guidelines and use the designated containers for a smooth and hassle-free journey.#Makkah_And_Madinah_Eagerly_Await_You#Ease_And_Tranquility pic.twitter.com/de4PLGlo18

— Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (@MoHU_En) March 28, 2025

Saudi authorities have established a sophisticated, multistage system to store and distribute Zamzam water, ensuring it remains clean, safe and easily accessible. Electric pumps transport Zamzam water 5km (3 miles) south to the King Abdullah Zamzam Water Project in Kudai. There, the water is purified and then bottled.

After treatment, the water is stored in two main reservoirs:

• Kudai reservoir: holds 10,000 cubic metres (10 million litres)
• King Abdulaziz Sabeel reservoir in Madinah: holds 16,000 cubic metres (16 million litres)