Title: Saudi Health Ministry: Over 2000 Pilgrims Affected by Heat Stress

The Saudi Ministry of Health announced in a statement broadcasted by the government channel, Al-Ikhbariya, that more than 2000 individuals have suffered from heat stress since the beginning of the Hajj, including 1721 people on Thursday, as temperatures reached 48 degrees Celsius. The number of deaths among pilgrims this year is at least 240, according to officials from several countries, without providing direct reasons for the fatalities or linking them directly to the extreme heat wave. This year's Hajj season saw the participation of over 1.8 million pilgrims, many of whom are elderly, as the age cap for participants was lifted after three years of restricting entrants to those under the age of sixty-five.