Israel Bars Gaza Muslims From Hajj for Third Consecutive Year

Israel’s blockade of Gaza has prevented Palestinians from performing the Hajj pilgrimage for a third consecutive year as border crossings remain closed amid ongoing 'Israeli' blockade and military operations.

“Toggle Play Children perform ‘mini Hajj’ in Gaza as Israel blocks pilgrims A school in Gaza City has taught its children how to perform the entire Hajj, as Palestinians living in the enclave are forced to miss the pilgrimage for a third year due to Israel’s travel blockade”

Al Jazeera

Countercurrents says more than 10,000 Palestinians have been barred from undertaking the sacred journey to Mecca, while Roya News reports that Gaza’s Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs said more than 10,000 Palestinians have been unable to perform Hajj over the past three years due to the continued closure of crossings, particularly the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Al Jazeera

Roya News adds that although limited medical evacuations have been allowed through Rafah in recent months, officials say travel for pilgrimage, education and work remains nearly impossible.

Roya News also reports that at least 71 Palestinians who had previously secured places for Hajj died before being able to complete the pilgrimage.

Roya News quotes Hanan al-Hams, 65, saying, “I lost my son, my home was destroyed, and now I am deprived of the journey I waited decades for,” as she spoke from a tent erected over the ruins of her home in northern Gaza.

Countercurrents describes an elderly Gazan woman, Hanan al-Hams, sitting in a tent beside the ruins of her destroyed home while mourning both her son and the loss of her pilgrimage.

Countercurrents

Roya News says Hanan al-Hams was among approximately 3,000 Palestinians from Gaza selected for Hajj in 2024 before the war disrupted travel plans, according to Al Jazeera.

Countercurrents frames the denial of Hajj as more than movement restrictions, saying it turns worship into an impossibility under siege and war.

Roya News reports that officials and researchers say Gaza’s religious tourism sector has suffered major financial damage, and it cites a recent study by the Palestinian Center for Political Studies describing the collapse of Gaza’s Hajj and Umrah sector as a “structural economic genocide.”

“Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio”

Roya News

Roya News adds that before the war, Hajj and Umrah activities contributed millions of dollars annually to Gaza’s economy and supported more than 1,500 workers directly and indirectly, according to the report.

Countercurrents says a May 2026 study by the Palestinian Center for Political Studies (PCPS), authored by Khaled Abu Amer, describes the destruction of Gaza’s Hajj and Umrah sector as a form of “structural economic genocide,” and it says the report documents the collapse of all 78 licensed Hajj and Umrah travel companies operating in Gaza.

Countercurrents also says the blockade raises concerns under international humanitarian law, citing Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and it frames the denial of Hajj as an assault on spiritual dignity, emotional survival, and collective identity.