Gaza Residents' Hajj Dream Shattered by Third Consecutive Israeli Blockade

GAZA — Hanan al-Hams was among 3,000 Palestinians from Gaza scheduled to perform Hajj in Mecca in 2024. However, her lifelong dream of fulfilling one of Islam’s five pillars was shattered by Israel’s war on Gaza, launched on 7 October 2023.

‘I lost my son, my home was destroyed, and now I’ve lost the chance to make a journey I’ve waited for decades,’ al-Hams, 65, told Al Jazeera while sitting in an emergency tent erected on the ruins of her home in northern Gaza on Sunday, 24 May 2026.

Access to and from Gaza has been controlled by Israel even before the genocide began. The partial opening of the Rafah crossing in February only permits travel for patients needing medical treatment abroad.

For other travel purposes, including pilgrimage, study, and work, leaving the territory is nearly impossible amid Israel’s land, air, and sea blockade imposed since 2007.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents remain displaced, living in tents or damaged homes after Israeli forces reduced the besieged territory to rubble. At least 72,775 Palestinians have died in the ongoing genocide, drawing international condemnation.

A ceasefire in October 2025 ended the war, but Israel has continued military operations and still occupies over 60% of Gaza, violating the truce agreement.