In Gaza, travel restrictions prevent the pilgrimage to Mecca and the Eid sacrifices.

Residents of the Gaza Strip are still not allowed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca or participate in ritual sacrifices related to an important Muslim holiday, due to border restrictions, according to testimonies and information reported from the territory.

In southern Gaza, in a displaced persons camp in Khan Younis, 64-year-old Najia Abu Lehia confides that she is living with a double burden: the grief of losing her husband, who died during the war, and the impossibility of performing the Hajj with him as they had planned. Like many Palestinians, she had been selected before the conflict to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, but the war made this impossible.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and represents a religious duty for every Muslim who is physically and financially able to perform it at least once in their lifetime. Before the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in 2023, approximately 3,000 pilgrims from Gaza traveled to Saudi Arabia each year for this pilgrimage.

Since then, travel has remained severely restricted despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States last October, which had raised hopes for a gradual return to freedom of movement. These expectations have been largely dashed, with restrictions remaining mostly in place.

In February, Israel authorized a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, Gaza's main access to the outside world. However, only a few hundred crossings are permitted each week, primarily for the sick and a limited number of accompanying persons, leaving the majority of residents unable to leave the territory.

In this context, religious celebrations are also affected, particularly the rites associated with Eid al-Adha, for which no sacrificial animals are allowed to enter the enclave, according to reports. The humanitarian situation and movement restrictions continue to fuel tensions between Israel and Hamas, especially regarding access to aid and food in the Palestinian territory.