Thousands of Hajj pilgrims circle holy Kaaba

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims were circling around the holy Kaaba on Tuesday night as the annual hajj pilgrimage continued.

Once drawing some 2.5 million Muslims from across the globe to the holy city of Mecca, the pilgrimage has been dramatically scaled back for a second year due to the coronavirus.

This year's hajj has been limited to 60,000 vaccinated Saudi citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on Tuesday, pilgrims wearing masks and maintaining social distancing performed the symbolic stoning of the devil in the valley area of Mina - using sterilized pebbles they received ahead of time.

The pared-down hajj prevents Muslims from outside Saudi Arabia from fulfilling an Islamic obligation and causes financial losses to Saudi Arabia which in pre-pandemic years took in billions of dollars as the custodian of the holy sites.

The hajj, which lasts about five days, concludes with Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” typically marked by communal prayers, large social gatherings, slaughtering of livestock and distributing meat to the needy.