Thousands of Palestinians were prevented from performing the Haj pilgrimage 1445 AH-2024 due to ongoing Israeli agression on the Gaza Strip and continued closure of the Rafah crossing.
The anouncement was made on Wednesday, May 22, by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in the Gaza, the Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
In a statement, the mnistry stressed that “preventing thousands of Gaza citizens from performing Haj is a clear violation of freedom of worship and international humanitarian law.”
It called on Egypt and Saudi Arabia to “put pressure on all parties, especially the occupation, to enable the people of Gaza to perform Haj this year.”
Since May 6, Israel has been conducting a ground attack on Rafah, a city located south of Gaza, and on May 7, it captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which is the only uncontrolled access point to the outside world.
Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.
Since then, over 35,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, have been killed and nearly 80,000 others injured.
Israel also continues the war despite the provisional measures issued by the ICJ, as well as despite the UN Security Council (UNSC) later issuing an immediate ceasefire resolution.