Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-09-08

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will sponsor 1,000 Palestinians whose family members were killed during the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza to perform Hajj this year.

“The generosity of King Abdullah for the sixth consecutive year is driven by his feelings of Islamic and Arab brotherhood towards Palestine and the Palestinian people,” Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da`wah, and Guidance Salih ibn `Abdul `Aziz ibn Muhammad Al Al-Shaykh was quoted by SPA news agency

This brings to 12,000 the number of Palestinians, whose family members had either died or gone to prison, who have been personally sponsored by King Abdullah to perform Hajj.

This special offer, which was dedicated to the families of the Palestinian martyrs, is expected to have a big effect on them which shall alleviate their suffering, added Al-Shaykh.

The minister went on to promise the Palestinians a special program during hajj to perform the religious duty accordingly.

Israel launched relentless airstrikes against Gaza on July 8 where more than 2,100 have been killed and thousands injured.

An agreement was announced on August 26, declaring a “permanent” ceasefire with Israel in a deal brokered by Egypt.

According to UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 80% of deaths in Gaza are civilians, including dozens of children and women.

The large scale of mass destruction in Gaza has left about 5,510 homes completely destroyed and about 31,000 partially damaged, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes that were caught up in the Israeli air strikes.

(Twitter: @Faizie143)