This year’s Hajj is being held in searing summer heat and amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi King Salman issued a decree on Monday last to host 1,000 pilgrims from the families of martyrs and the wounded from the Gaza Strip.

The decree will bring the number of Palestinian pilgrims to be given the special honour at this year’s Hajj to 2,000.

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However, the Saudi authorities have warned that no political activity will be tolerated.

After gathering in Makkah, the pilgrims will first perform the “tawaf” — circling seven times around the Holy Kaaba at Masjid al-Haram (Makkah’s Grand Mosque).

They will then head towards Mina, a valley surrounded by craggy mountains several kilometres outside Makkah, where they will spend the night in air-conditioned tents.

The climax will come on Saturday with day-long prayers on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his final sermon.

Hajj is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and involves a series of religious rites performed in Makkah and its surroundings.

It is obligatory for all Muslims, who have the means, to perform the Hajj pilgrimage once in life.