Hanan al-Hams was among the 3,000 Palestinians from Gaza scheduled to travel for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in 2024. But her lifelong dream to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, was shattered by Israel’s war on Gaza, launched on October 7, 2024.“I lost my son, my home was destroyed, and now I am deprived of the journey I waited decades for,” al-Hams, 65, told Al Jazeera, sitting inside a makeshift tent pitched over the ruins of her home in northern Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listEntry and exit from Gaza were decided by Israel even before the war began. A partial opening in February of the Rafah crossing – the only connection to the outside world – has allowed passage only for patients who need medical treatments abroad.For any other travel requirement, including pilgrimage, study, and work, getting out of the enclave is near to impossible amid an Israeli land, air and sea blockade in place since 2007.Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people remain displaced, living in tent camps and destroyed houses as Israeli forces have turned the besieged enclave into rubble, killing at least 72,775 Palestinians during the ongoing genocidal war that has drawn condemnation from across the world.A ceasefire in October 2025 ended the war, but Israel has continued its military offensive and continues to occupy more than 60 percent of Gaza’s territory in breach of the truce.Across the besieged …
