Middle East and Africa
The numbers of pilgrims are expected to rise further over the next two days as they continue to arrive from abroad ahead of the formal rituals that mark the beginning of the hajj on Monday.
Muslim worshippers gather to pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on May 22, 2026 ahead of the annual haj. (AFP/Zain Jaafar)
Over 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the kingdom for the upcoming haj, according to a Saudi official, exceeding the number of international visitors last year despite the war in the Middle East.The conflict triggered by the United States 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.
