Million gather in Makkah as hajj begins

More than 1.5 million Muslims will begin the annual hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi holy city of Makkah today.

According to a Saudi official, this year the number of pilgrims exceeds the number of international visitors last year, despite the war in the Middle East.

The conflict triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February saw Tehran order waves of strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, prompting widespread air traffic disruptions and causing travel costs to surge.

Major Gulf airlines in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain have worked to quickly restore much of their operational capacity after weeks of airspace closures and flight cancellations.

Despite the complications, pilgrims have continued to flock to Saudi Arabia to participate in this year’s hajj.

“The total number of pilgrims arriving from abroad has reached 1,518,153,” Saleh Al-Murabba, the commander of Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Passport Forces, told a press conference.

Last year, the total number of pilgrims at the hajj reached 1,673,320, including 1,506,576 from outside Saudi Arabia.

The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.