In Mecca's sweltering heat, pilgrims start this year's Hajj pilgrimage  

Mina, Saudi Arabia: In sweltering temperatures, pilgrims in Mecca converged on a vast tent camp in the desert on Friday, officially opening the annual...

Mina, Saudi Arabia:  In sweltering temperatures, pilgrims in Mecca converged on a vast tent camp in the desert on Friday, officially opening the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Ahead of their trip, they circled the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site.

More than 1.5 million pilgrims from around the world have already amassed in and around Mecca for the Hajj, and the number was still growing as more pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia joined. Saudi authorities expected the number of pilgrims to exceed 2 million this year.

This year’s Hajj came against the backdrop of the raging war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, which pushed the entire Middle East to the brink of a regional war.

Palestinians in the coastal enclave of Gaza were not able to travel to Mecca for Hajj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing in May when Israel extended its ground offensive.

Palestinian authorities said 4,200 pilgrims from the occupied West Bank arrived in Mecca for Hajj. Saudi authorities said 1,000 more from the families of Palestinians killed or wounded in the war in Gaza also arrived to perform Hajj at the country's invitation. The 1,000 invitees were already outside Gaza - mostly in Egypt - before closure of the Rafah crossing.