A total of 6,600 Palestinian pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj rituals in Makkah, scheduled from May 24 to May 29. The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs said the pilgrims traveled through Jordan from cities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, while 700 pilgrims from the Gaza Strip entered through Egypt.

Upon arrival, the pilgrims were accommodated in six hotels in the Kingdom. Saudi authorities in the Madinah region have also received thousands of other pilgrims arriving by land through northern entry points since late April.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is required once in a lifetime for every able Muslim. Last year, more than 1.6 million pilgrims performed Hajj, including hundreds of thousands from within Saudi Arabia and many others from abroad. This year, about 21,000 pilgrims from Syria and 8,000 from Jordan are also expected to take part.