More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimage

Over 1.5 million foreign Muslim pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage starting Friday. Saudi officials expect the pilgrim count to exceed last year’s 1.8 million, nearing pre-pandemic levels. Among them are 4,200 Palestinians from the West Bank, but none from Gaza due to the recent Israel-Hamas conflict.