Gaza Muslims Unable to Perform Hajj for Third Consecutive Year Amid Border Restrictions

As millions of Muslims travel to Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, many residents of Gaza are once again unable to participate due to ongoing border closures and travel restrictions linked to the conflict in the enclave.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, more than 10,000 Palestinians from Gaza have missed the pilgrimage over the past three years after the closure of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main route to the outside world through Egypt.

Among them is 65-year-old Hanan al-Hams, who had been selected for Hajj in 2024 before the war interrupted her plans.

“I lost my son, my home was destroyed, and now I cannot make the journey I waited decades for,” she said while living in a tent erected beside the ruins of her home in northern Gaza.

Before the war that began in October 2023, movement in and out of Gaza was already heavily restricted under a long-standing Israeli blockade imposed since 2007. Since the conflict escalated, travel opportunities have become even more limited. The partial reopening of the Rafah crossing earlier this year has reportedly been restricted mainly to medical evacuations.

Many displaced families in Gaza have been following the Hajj rituals through television and mobile phones instead of travelling to Saudi Arabia.

“The war ended, and we hoped we would finally be able to perform Hajj,” said Adnan Abu Foul, who watched pilgrims circle the Kaaba on his phone alongside his wife. “But for three years we have remained unable to leave.”

Officials from Gaza’s Awqaf Ministry said at least 71 people who had previously secured places for Hajj died during the conflict before they could undertake the pilgrimage.

Religious Tourism Sector Severely Affected

A recent study by the Palestinian Center for Political Studies said Gaza’s Hajj and Umrah travel industry has suffered major financial losses since the start of the war. The report stated that all 78 licensed Hajj and Umrah travel agencies in Gaza either stopped operating or sustained heavy damage.

Industry representatives estimated losses exceeding $4 million, in addition to millions of dollars in frozen funds connected to airlines, hotels, and travel arrangements abroad.

Before the war, the pilgrimage sector contributed around $12 million annually to Gaza’s economy and supported more than 1,500 jobs directly and indirectly.

Mohammed Abdul Bari, a local Hajj organiser, said the annual pilgrimage season once brought large public farewell gatherings and extensive travel operations, all of which have now disappeared.

Calls for International Intervention

Gaza officials have urged international actors, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to help facilitate pilgrimage access for residents of the territory.

Rami Abu Staitah, director general of Hajj and Umrah affairs at the ministry, said organising pilgrimage travel requires early arrangements for transport and accommodation that are currently impossible under existing conditions.

For now, Gaza’s annual Hajj allocation is reportedly being used mainly by Palestinians holding Gaza identification documents who are already residing abroad, particularly in Egypt and other countries.

Thousands of elderly and displaced residents inside Gaza continue to wait in hopes that future pilgrimage seasons may become accessible again.