More than 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage as the faithful faced soaring temperatures at Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia.

Hundreds of people have died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced intense high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom.

The United States is bracing for chaotic weather this week, as the South is set to experience another heat wave following a short respite from searing temperatures earlier this month.

Masses of pilgrims have embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia, marking the final days of Hajj pilgrimage and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world.

More than 1.83 million Muslims from around the world gathered at the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for worship and reflection on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Muslim pilgrims have converged on a vast tent camp in the desert near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, officially beginning the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

For the first time in over a decade, 270 Syrians have traveled on a direct flight from Damascus to Saudi Arabia for the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage, according to the Syrian Transportation Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims have walked in the footsteps of the prophets beneath a sweltering sun as contracted cleaners in lime-green jumpsuits held out matching plastic bags to collect their empty water bottles.

Muslim pilgrims are casting stones at pillars representing the devil during the final days of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims are braving intense heat to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Muslim pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill Mount Arafat outside Mecca for a day of prayer on the second day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The Hajj pilgrimage has officially started in Saudi Arabia.

Over 1.8 million Muslims are making the Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi officials say close to 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country so far for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

This year’s Hajj is a landmark: the first full pilgrimage after a daunting period of three years when the COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced the scale of one of Islam’s holiest rites.

A criminal court has imposed a $5.3 million fine on the Saudi BinLadin Group and sentenced seven people to prison over the collapse of a crane ahead of the 2015 hajj pilgrimage.

Islam’s annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will return to pre-pandemic levels this year after restrictions saw the annual religious commemoration curtailed over concerns about the coronavirus.

A few days after Mohammed Salem was detained in Saudi Arabia last month, his family contacted the media. They say that it definitely helped the Melvindale man gain his freedom.

A Melvindale man is headed back to American soil Wednesday after being detained in the middle east for over a month.

Mohammed Salem traveled to the middle east to visit the Kaaba, a sacred building in Mecca when an argument in line led to his arrest, and now Local 4 has learned that he’s been moved to a higher-security prison.

Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam's holiest city where only Muslim are allowed to enter.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world were raising their hands to heaven and offering prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia.

A million pilgrims from across the globe are gathering in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the initial rites of the hajj.

Muslim pilgrims are converging on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed access to one of Islam’s five pillars.

Saudi Arabia has lifted a mask mandate for indoors spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago.

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, opening a third dose of Pfizer's vaccine to people as young as age 16.

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are falling and the number of new cases per day is about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months.

Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims are circling Islam’s holiest site in Mecca for the start of the hajj.

Saudi Arabia says this year’s hajj pilgrimage will be limited to no more than 60,000 people, all of them from within the kingdom, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Muslims in many parts of the world are marking the start of Ramadan as coronavirus cases spike in some countries.

Coronavirus cases are continuing to decline in the U.S. after a winter surge. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in the country dropped below 100,000 on Friday, Feb. 12 for the first time since November 4. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)ATLANTA – Average daily new coronavirus cases in the United States dipped below 100,000 in recent days for the first time in months, but experts cautioned Sunday that infections remain high and precautions to slow the pandemic must remain in place. That average dropped below 100,000 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 4. “We are still at about 100,000 cases a day.

But as nations begin to ease those restrictions, the Saudi government on Sunday started allowing a maximum of 6,000 pilgrims a day to enter the sprawling Grand Mosque in Mecca. Muslim travelers from outside Saudi Arabia could be allowed to perform the umrah pilgrimage as early as Nov. 1, the Interior Ministry has said. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time since March. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded nearly 336,000 cases, including 4,850 deaths.

FILE - In this May 25, 2019 file photo, Muslim worshippers circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the minor pilgrimage, known as Umrah in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslim travelers from outside Saudi Arabia could be allowed to perform the “umrah” pilgrimage as early as Nov. 1, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time since March. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 330,000 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths.

(AP Photo)DUBAI Masked pilgrims arrived Thursday at Mount Arafat, a desert hill near Islams holiest site, to pray and repent on the most important day of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Only a very limited number of pilgrims were allowed to take part in the hajj amid numerous restrictions to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus. The Saudi government has not released a final figure on the number of hajj pilgrims this year, but has said anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 would be taking part. The sliver of pilgrims performing the hajj this year arrived at Mount Arafat before noon by bus on Thursday. After spending the day in prayer on Mount Arafat, pilgrims will head toward an area called Muzdalifa, about 5.5 miles (9 kilometers) west of Mount Arafat.

Hundreds of Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social destination to protect themselves against the coronavirus ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. During the first rites of hajj, Muslims circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise seven times while reciting supplications to God, then walk between two hills where Ibrahim's wife, Hagar, is believed to have run as she searched for water for her dying son before God brought forth a well that runs to this day.

The hajj, both physically and spiritually demanding, is intended to bring about greater humility and unity among Muslims. Ammar Khaled, a 29-year-old Indian pilgrim who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, said although he's alone on the hajj, he's praying for those he loves. Instead, as few as 1,000 people already residing in Saudi Arabia were selected to take part in the hajj this year. Two-thirds are foreign residents from among the 160 different nationalities that would have normally been represented at the hajj. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia needs to put these measures in place so we can learn from this experience, said Saudi infectious disease expert and World Health Organization official, Dr. Hanan Balkhy.

General view showing the Grand Mosque, at the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, July 27, 2020 ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage. Anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 pilgrims will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, technology is our black horse to developing the whole hajj journey, said al-Maddah, an electronics engineer with a Ph.D. in robotics and artificial intelligence. Typically, the hajj can cost thousands of dollars for pilgrims who save for a lifetime for the journey. Al-Maddah, who sits on the hajj planning committee, said allowing people to enter Saudi Arabia from abroad would have posed a global health risk.

This year, Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry has said between 1,000 and 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage. Two-thirds of those pilgrims will be from among foreign residents in Saudi Arabia and one-third will be Saudi citizens. Fatin Daud, a 25-year-old Malaysian studying Arabic in Saudi Arabia, was among the select few whose application for hajj was approved. Saudi Arabia has never canceled the hajj in the nearly 90 years since the country was founded. Pebbles for casting away evil that are usually picked up by pilgrims along hajj routes will be sterilized and bagged before being distributed to the pilgrims.

(AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)DUBAI Muslims around the world hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Mecca to perform the hajj will have to wait until next year, after Saudi Arabia drastically curtailed the pilgrimage due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hajj typically draws 2.5 million people from inside Saudi Arabia and around the world. Instead, Pakistan said its diplomats already in Saudi Arabia will represent the country during the pilgrimage this year, which begins at the end of July. Still, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of infection in the Middle East, with more than 161,000 confirmed cases so far, including 1,307 deaths. In 1987, Saudi security forces killed more than 400 people, mostly Shiite Muslims, in a clash sparked by Iranian pilgrims protesting during the hajj.

(AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)DUBAI Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that because of the coronavirus only very limited numbers of people will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage that traditionally draws around 2 million people from around the world. Saudi Arabia said its decision to drastically limit the number of pilgrims was made due to the lack of an available vaccine for the virus or a cure for those infected, as well as the risks associated with large gatherings of people. All able-bodied Muslims are required to perform the hajj pilgrimage once in their lifetime. Saudi Arabia had already suspended the smaller year-round umrah pilgrimage earlier this year and closed the Grand Mosque in Mecca, home to Islam's holiest site, to the public. Although Saudi Arabia has lifted some restrictions in recent days around the country, the umrah continues to be suspended and its borders remain shut to visitors and tourists.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's holiest site outside of Saudi Arabia, also reopened for prayers for the first time since it was closed in mid-March. In Saudi Arabia, the government prepared for the reopening of around 90,000 mosques after sanitizing prayer rugs, washrooms and shelves holding copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia also lifted a ban on domestic air travel and permitted some public sector workers to resume office work again, though full attendance will not be allowed until mid-June. The new measures come as Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world begin to loosen restrictions and stay-at-home orders following weeks of curfews and lockdowns. Despite taking early and unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 83,000 people contracting the virus, including 480 deaths.

Gul is one of 200 people who arrived in Mecca, Saudi Arabia from Christchurch this week to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which began on Friday. They are survivors of the March 2019 terror attacks at two Christchurch mosques as well as the relatives of those who were slain in the shootings. CNN's interviews with Christchurch pilgrims in Mecca were facilitated by the kingdom's Center of International Communications. Christchurch survivors and victims' relatives say the pilgrimage has been a means to healing from the violence that changed their lives. She had planned to go to Hajj with her parents, but the Christchurch shooter dealt a fatal blow to their plans.