MAKKAH, (PIC)
About two million pilgrims headed at dawn Saturday on the ninth of Dhu al-Hijja, to Mount Arafat in Makkah to perform the greatest pillar of Islam: al-Hajj.
The Saudi authorities announced the arrival of more than 1.5 million pilgrims from various countries of the world. However, the pilgrims from the Gaza Strip were forcibly absent due to the closure of the crossings and the ongoing Israeli genocidal war.
Meanwhile, hundreds of families of Gazan martyrs and wounded who live abroad arrived in Makkah for the start of Hajj. Their Hajj expenses will be paid by Saudi Arabia.
The security spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Interior confirmed the imposition of a tight security cordon around the holy places until the end of the Hajj season, announcing the deportation of more than a quarter of a million people who did not hold a Hajj visa.
Pilgrims will pray the noon and afternoon prayers in Mount Arafat, before heading to Muzdalifah.
The pilgrims will return to Mina and from there to the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, then they will return back again to Mina to perform the rituals of the last three days of the Hajj season, which will be concluded by heading to Makkah to perform the farewell Tawaf.
