Muslim pilgrims have gathered on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for the second day of the Hajj, considered the pinnacle of the annual pilgrimage.

Pilgrims flock to Saudi Arabia for Hajj as war rages in the Middle East, with worshippers citing faith, safety measures and a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual duty.

More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the…