The annual Muslim pilgrimage to the sacred city of Mecca that wrapped up last week became a death march for over 1,300 Hajj participants who died in temperatures that climbed above 124 degrees.

Saudi Arabia's health minister Fahad Al-Jalajel, who on Sunday announced a death total of 1,301, blamed the fatalities on pilgrims "walking long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort."

The 5-6 day odyssey of hiking and prayer drew almost 2 million pilgrims from around the world. Fatalities included a number of elderly people and those suffering from chronic diseases, A-Jalajel said. About  83% of the fatalities were among people who were not authorized to make the pilgrimage, he said.

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The Biden administration's proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza received the United Nations' endorsement Monday when the Security Council voted 14-0 in favor of a resolution supporting the plan, with only Russia abstaining but not vetoing. Still, acceptance by the warring parties remains elusive.

The U.S. drafted the measure and finalized it Sunday after six days of negotiations among council members. The three-stage proposal would bring about an immediate stop in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, along with the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed misgivings about the version of the plan President Joe Biden made public May 31, though the White House has said Israel was involved in crafting it. Netanyahu is under pressure from the far-right flank of his governing coalition to continue the war, and in addition to the truce the proposal calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and, in the second phase, a permanent end to the conflict.

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Joe Biden has ruled out Ukraine joining Nato in the aftermath of a ceasefire with Russia in a major blow to Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ahead of Nato’s annual summit on July 9, the US president said Ukraine would have to rely on supplies of Western weapons to ward off a second Russian offensive.

Peace, he said, “doesn’t mean Nato.”

“It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in future,” he told Time magazine.

Mr Zelensky has pushed for Ukraine to be granted swift entry to Nato after the war is over, arguing Vladimir Putin is likely to stage another invasion before long.

Membership of the alliance would compel the US and western nations to come to the defence of Ukraine in the event of any Russian attack, under Article 5 of the Nato treaty.

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