Millions arrive in Mecca for Hajj: summary

What we know

• Over 1.5 million Muslim pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah for the Hajj, set to start later this week.
• Most pilgrims arrived by air with over 1.48 million flying in, while nearly 60,000 entered through land and sea ports. Saudi officials expect the number of participants this year to exceed the 1.8 million who attended in 2023, nearing pre-pandemic levels.
• On June 11, many performed the ritual of walking around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah. They wore ihrams, two unstitched sheets of white cloth, while using umbrellas to protect themselves from the 42 degrees Celsius heat.
• Pilgrims will move to the Mountain of Arafat on June 14 for a daylong vigil, followed by a stop in Muzdalifah, a rocky plain area away from Arafat to collect pebbles for the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina. The Hajj is one of Islam's Five Pillars and must be undertaken by all Muslims at least once if they are able.
• Earlier this month, 4,200 Palestinians from the West Bank arrived for Hajj, but those from Gaza could not travel due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

 What they said

Some pilgrims expressed joy about the Hajj experience and the ritual circuit walking seven times around the Kaaba. “I was relieved when I arrived at the Al-Masjid Al-Haram and saw the Kaaba,” said a Moroccan pilgrim Rabeia Al-Raghi who came to Makkah for Hajj along with her husband and their daughter. “I am very happy.”