Huge crowds of pilgrims "stoned the devil" in the last major ritual of the hajj pilgrimage on Friday, as Muslims around the globe celebrated the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Starting before dawn, 1.6 million-plus pilgrims began throwing stones at three giant concrete walls symbolising the devil at the Jamarat complex, near the holy city of Mecca.

Despite the throngs, the annual pilgrimage has seen its lowest numbers in decades and a range of new precautions after 1,301 people died in extreme heat last year.

The suspect in a Molotov cocktail attack on a Jewish protest march in Colorado appeared in court Thursday facing more than 100 charges over an incident that injured 15 people.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown firebombs and sprayed burning gasoline at a group of people who had gathered Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Prosecutors now say 15 people -- eight women and seven men -- were hurt in the attack in the city of Boulder. Three are still hospitalized.

The oldest victim was 88 years old.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court including over an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it ramped up pressure to neuter the court of last resort.

The four judges in The Hague, all women, will be barred entry to the United States and any property or other interests in the world's largest economy will be blocked -- measures more often taken against policymakers from US adversaries than against judicial officials.

Uzbekistan are heading to next year's World Cup for the first time in the country's history, a feat that caps years of progress in a part of the world not known for its footballing prowess.

The Central Asian nation qualified for football's premier international tournament on Thursday thanks to a 0-0 draw with the United Arab Emirates -- enough to seal the achievement with one game to spare.

The issue of conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army has become a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sparking threats to derail his coalition and trigger early elections if he ends a long-standing exemption.

Military service is mandatory in Israel, but under a ruling established at the country's creation -- when the ultra-Orthodox were a very small community -- men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts are given a de facto pass.

A series of Israeli air strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday night, after the military said it would target underground Hezbollah drone factories.

Plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the Lebanese capital, shortly after huge numbers of people had fled the area, clogging the roads with traffic.

Lebanese news agency ANI said it counted nearly a dozen strikes, including two which were "very violent". AFP journalists in the city heard at least two strong detonations.

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets under a heavy police presence for Jerusalem's annual Pride march Thursday, a decade after the murder of a teenager by a Jewish extremist during the same event.

The fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Shira Banki on July 30 that year, in an attack that also wounded six others, prompted police to step up their surveillance of Pride festivities in Jerusalem in the years that followed.

Hamas's lead negotiator said the group was ready to enter a new round of talks aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where rescuers said Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people on Thursday.

Negotiator Khalil al-Hayya made the declaration in a speech marking the start of Eid al-Adha festivities, typically a joyous date on the Muslim calendar, but one many Gazans say they will not be able to celebrate this year amid crushing shortages.

More than 130 news outlets and press freedom groups called Thursday for Israel to immediately lift a near-total ban on international media entering Gaza, while calling for greater protections for Palestinian journalists in the territory.

Israel has blocked most foreign correspondents from independently accessing Gaza since it began its war there following the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by militant group Hamas.

For the first time in his short life, Imad Dib, orphaned by the Gaza war, was preparing to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha without his parents.

"Dad would buy us a sheep, but now we are alone," the 11-year-old said.

Before the war, he said, "I loved Eid so much, I was excited for it each year, to be able to celebrate and wear new clothes," he said of the Eid tradition, looking weary in his patched-up shoes.