Muslim pilgrims have converged on a vast tent camp in the desert near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, officially beginning the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the city of Mecca so far on Friday. They expect the number to exceed last year's, when more than 1.8 million people performed the Hajj. This year's pilgrimage comes with the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, which has pushed the Middle East to the brink of regional conflict. The pilgrims stay in a desert camp, then move for a daylong vigil on Mount Arafat, a hill where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his final speech.

Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Mecca so far. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday. Saudi officials expect the number to exceed the participants in 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj. The numbers are nearing the totals before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, more than 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage.