Saudi Health Minister Fahd al-Jalajel said that 1,301 pilgrims died during this year's Hajj season due to intense heat, speaking in a call with the official Al-Ekhbariya channel on Sunday, in the first official Saudi response on the matter.

Al-Jalajel stated that the majority of the deceased "walked long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort, including several elderly and chronically ill individuals," offering the families of the deceased "sincere condolences and sympathy."

He announced that 95 unauthorised patients were receiving medical care, pointing out that over 1.3 million medical services were rendered throughout the Hajj season.

Health centres provided medical care to almost 500,000 pilgrims, with over 140,000 of them lacking the necessary permits.

Countries across the world have been giving updates on the number of their citizens who died, but Saudi Arabia had not commented publicly on the deaths or provided an official toll until Sunday.

Several countries have declared the deaths among their pilgrims this year before Saudi Arabia provided its first public comment on Sunday.

According to media outlets reports, 658 Egyptians had died during the Hajj season, while Indonesia has reported over 200 deaths of its nationals, while Jordanian officials said that 75 people had lost their lives. India gave a death toll of 98 people.

Tunisia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Senegal, Sudan, and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region all reported deaths among their pilgrims.