The Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, is slowly coming to an end. On Saturday, countless believers gathered in Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed is said to have given his last sermon. Prayers were held there for the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia’s minister responsible for pilgrimages, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, warned last week that “no political activity” would be tolerated during the hajj. Nevertheless, this warning did not stop at least one pilgrim from supporting the Palestinians through song. “Pray for our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, may God give victory to the Muslims,” he said, according to the French news agency AFP.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also used the pilgrimage to show his support for the Palestinians. In a message to pilgrims on Saturday, he said that “the fierce resistance of Palestine and the patient, oppressed people of Gaza must be fully supported in every possible way.”
This year’s prayer at Arafat was accompanied by extreme heat. The temperature on the mountain reached 46 degrees on Saturday, the spokesperson for the national meteorological center said on X.
The hajj lasts until Wednesday. According to the Saudi state broadcaster Al-Ekhbariya, around 1.8 million pilgrims will take part this year.