‘All I think about is Gaza’: War weighs heavy on hajj pilgrims
Muslim worshippers gather around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at
the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on June 1, 2025 ahead
of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.AFP
Palestinian pilgrim Mohammed Shehade, who is not in Gaza, said his family's plight in the war-torn region overshadows the unique opportunity he was given to complete the hajj.
The 38-year-old engineer was given permission to travel to Egypt for life-saving cancer treatment, but Israeli officials forbade his family from joining him.
He said that he had "the opportunity of a lifetime" to apply for the yearly Muslim pilgrimage, which starts on Wednesday, after leaving the Gaza Strip in February.
Thoughts of his wife and four children trapped in Gaza under constant bombing weighed heavily on his mind even as he toured the sacred sites in the Saudi city of Mecca.
On the side of the road going to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Shehade told AFP, "Being far away from your family is the biggest hardship in life."
Along with over a million worshippers from around the world, he is one of hundreds of Gazans who will participate in the holiest ceremonies of Islam.
Shehade said he had been praying day and night for the conclusion of the Gaza war and to be reunited with his family while pilgrims in white robes passed by.
"You will never be happy if you are separated from your family, even if you are in the nicest place in the world," he remarked.
"Between two fires"
Since the militant group Hamas started an unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, Israel has been attacking Gaza nonstop. The two brief truces only served to halt the raging military offensive.
Most residents now find it nearly impossible to leave Gaza, but some, like Shehade, have been evacuated for medical reasons.
"I am getting ready to do the Hajj, but there are some things I can not talk about. Tears started to well up in his eyes as he added, "If I do, I will cry."
The United Nations has warned of catastrophic starvation after Israel resumed its heavy bombing campaign and barred relief deliveries after Shehade departed Gaza during a truce.
Regarding the decision to leave his family behind and travel for a necessary surgery, Shehade remarked, "When I went, I was stuck between two fires."
The health ministry in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, reported on Sunday that since Israel's offensive commenced on March 18, at least 4,149 Palestinians had died in the region, bringing the total number of fatalities from the conflict to 54,418—mostly civilians.
According to an AFP count based on government estimates, 1,218 people were killed in the 2023 Hamas attack that started the conflict, the majority of whom were civilians.
Although a fresh ceasefire agreement was "extremely close," according to US President Donald Trump on Friday, the talks seem to have reached yet another dead end.
After more than a year and a half of fruitless negotiations, Shehade claimed to have disillusioned and to have "become terrified of being optimistic and becoming disappointed once more."
Peaceful prayers
According to Palestinian officials, around 1,350 Gazans, the majority of whom live in Egypt, will conduct the hajj this year, along with an additional 500 who have been invited as guests of the Saudi king.
Seven months after the conflict broke out, one Gazan pilgrim, 48-year-old Rajaee Rajeh al-Kahlout, left the Palestinian enclave for Egypt with his wife and four children.
His import-export company was ruined, and his house was damaged.
Kahlout claimed that although the hajj is typically a joyful occasion, he was unable to imagine any festivities.
"My brothers, sisters, and entire family are still in Gaza... He urged pilgrims to pray for the end of the war and the reunion of loved ones, saying, "We dread for our family every waking moment."
"I wish I could have visited here when things were better, when there was no death, destruction, or war."
Every Muslim who has the means must perform the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once.
A lottery is used to give official permits to people, while quotas are used to distribute them to nations.
A 60-year-old widow told AFP in the foyer of the Al-Nuzha Plus hotel in Mecca, where Gazan pilgrims are staying, that she has not seen her ten children since she was evacuated last year for health concerns.
She declared that she was praying for "the children of Palestine" who were enduring strife and famine.
"Gaza is all I can think about; I want to go back there since my entire life is there, including my kids and my house.
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