At a time when more than one and a half million pilgrims gathered in Mecca on Friday to begin the Hajj rituals, the Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip deprived 2,500 Gazans of the opportunity to perform the Hajj, which some of them had been waiting for for years.
The official in the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza, Ikrami Al-Mudalal, said yesterday, Thursday, that the continuation of the war and the Israeli army’s occupation of the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip with Egypt, prevented pilgrims from traveling to perform the religious obligation this year, which is a clear violation of freedom of worship.
Al-Mudalal explained that the Ministry was unable this year, due to the war, to complete the procedures for the Hajj season as in previous years, which includes signing land and air transport contracts within Egypt, as well as land transport contracts within Saudi Arabia, in addition to reserving pilgrims’ accommodation in Mecca and Medina and many other necessary matters.
He indicated that the number of pilgrims to Gaza amounts to 2,500 pilgrims, in addition to the accompanying delegations, and the percentage of pilgrims from the Gaza Strip constitutes 38% of the total number of pilgrims from Palestine, which number 6,600 pilgrims.
He stressed that this year’s pilgrims will not lose their right to perform the Hajj next year, and they will have priority, especially since they have been waiting for their turn to perform Hajj for many years, and 70% of them are elderly and sick.
Due to the limited seats and the continued siege, the names of pilgrims in Gaza are chosen by lottery and according to conditions set by the Ministry, with priority given to the elderly and the sick.
It is noteworthy that on the sixth of this June, King Salman bin Abdulaziz ordered to host a thousand pilgrims from the families of the martyrs and injured people of Gaza on an exceptional basis this year as part of the program for the guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Hajj, Umrah and visits, which is implemented by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
These pilgrims were chosen from among the Palestinians who left the Gaza Strip to other countries, either fleeing the war after losing members of their families, or for treatment due to their injuries.
Since last October 7, the Israeli occupation has launched an aggression against Gaza, leaving more than 122,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, and more than 10,000 missing.
Israel continues its war despite a decision by the UN Security Council to stop it immediately, and orders from the International Court of Justice to end the invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the miserable humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.