Nearly 270,000 pilgrims without permits stopped from entering Mecca
Saudia Arabia has stopped nearly 269,678 pilgrims without authorisation from entering Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The government blames overcrowding at the Hajj on participants without permits. It also says they made up large numbers of the 1,300 people who died in last year's searing summer heat.
The number of expulsions highlights the scale of unauthorised pilgrimages, as well as the demand to perform the Hajj. There are currently an estimated 1.4 million Muslims in Mecca, with more expected to arrive in the coming days.
There are fines of up to $5,000 (€4,400) and other punitive measures, like deportation, for anyone performing the Hajj without a permit. The policy includes citizens and those with Saudi residency.
At a press conference in Mecca, officials said they had stopped 269,678 people without permits from entering. Only permit holders are allowed to perform the pilgrimage, even if they live in the city year-round.
Officials have also imposed penalties on more than 23,000 Saudi residents for violating Hajj regulations and revoked the licenses of 400 Hajj companies.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Omari told the media: 'The pilgrim is in our sight, and anyone who disobeys is in our hands.'
The Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and involves a series of religious rituals. It's a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to do it.
But it has been marred in recent years by concerns about extreme temperatures, with pilgrims performing their rituals outdoors in peak daylight hours.
Historically, deaths are not uncommon at the Hajj, which has seen at times over 2 million people travel to Saudi Arabia for a five-day pilgrimage. It has also seen fatal stampedes and other accidents.
Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence said Sunday that drones were being used for the first time at the Hajj. These can be used for surveillance and monitoring, as well as extinguishing fires.
Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at 'breaking Israel's siege' of the devastated territory, organisers said.
The sailing boat Madleen – operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition – embarked from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy.
"Game of Thrones" star Liam Cunningham and French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan are also among the passengers. Hassan has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza.
It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise 'international awareness' over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of their departure.
'We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,' Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech.
'Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it's not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,' she added.
In mid-May, Israel slightly eased its blockade of Gaza after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory.
Experts have warned that Gaza is at renewed risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. UN agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinian residents.
The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped.
Thunberg, who became an internationally famous climate activist after organising massive teen protests in her native Sweden, had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month.
That attempt to reach Gaza by sea, in early May, failed after another of the group's vessels, the 'Conscience', was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
The Flotilla group was only the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza's civilians.
'We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that's part of a broader strategy of mobilisations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,' said activist Thiago Avila.
Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza – an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media – which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and re-open the border.
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