1.5 Million Foreign Pilgrims Enter Saudi Arabia For Hajj As U.S. And Israeli Strikes Hit Iran

More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have entered Saudi Arabia for the upcoming Hajj, with Saleh Al-Murabba, the commander of Saudi Arabia's Hajj Passport Forces, saying "The total number of pilgrims arriving from abroad has reached 1,518,153".

The Daily Sabah report links the travel strain to conflict triggered by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, saying Tehran ordered waves of strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, prompting air traffic disruptions and travel costs to surge.

Al Jazeera

It adds that major Gulf airlines in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain worked to restore operational capacity after weeks of airspace closures and flight cancellations, while pilgrims continued to flock to Saudi Arabia to participate in this year's hajj.

The Times of Israel similarly says MECCA, Saudi Arabia saw over 1.5 million pilgrims arrive from outside the kingdom, and it reports that the Saudi official's figure was expected to rise further over the next two days ahead of the formal rituals that mark the beginning of the annual rite on Monday.

In Sterling Heights, Michigan, Juber Ahmed, a pharmacist, and his mother, Shamima Akther, said their applications were accepted in January and they are preparing for a trip to Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

Ahmed told Religion News Service and NPR, "I was in tears, did sajdah as-sukr (offered gratitude) and then I hugged my mom, and both of us just were in tears," while Akther, 63, said she waited nearly 30 years to make the journey and wants to do it while she’s still physically able.

Daily Sabah

The report says the U.S. State Department asked Americans to reconsider traveling to Saudi Arabia in April because of the ongoing war between Iran and the U.S., and it quotes Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk, co-chair of the Imams Council of Michigan, saying, "I really encourage them."

Elturk added that he sees U.S. military installations in Saudi Arabia as far from the holy sites and told RNS and NPR, "there’s nothing going on there in terms of war or missiles or anything of that sort," as Wahid Elfeky, president of Aleman Groups USA in New York City, described U.S. quotas limiting access to about 4,000 to 5,000 Americans.

Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that 1,301 pilgrims died during the Hajj, with TF1 Info reporting that "1,301 pilgrims died during the Hajj" and that 83% of them were not authorized to participate in the gathering.

“The consequences of extreme heat in Saudi Arabia have been devastating”

Le Monde.fr

TF1 Info says the Saudi state press agency reported that most of the deaths involved people who were not authorized, who traveled long distances in the sun with no adequate shelter or comfort, and it notes that Egyptian authorities ordered on Saturday the revocation of the licenses of 16 travel companies and referred their officials to the public prosecutor for fraud.

Radio France reports that official figures showed more than 1,300 deaths due to heat exceeding 51 degrees during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and it frames the tragedy around both temperatures and the bypassing of visitor quotas.

It also says the Saudi authorities installed misting devices on the main avenues that pilgrims walk along and recommended protective measures, while it adds that "Half of the 1,300 deaths are Egyptians" and that Egyptian licenses were revoked for unauthorized pilgrimages.