For third year in a row, Israel blocks Hajj pilgrimage for Gaza Muslims

Al Jazeera · May 24, 2026 · 899 words · By Al Jazeera Staff

Humanitarian Crisis Israeli-Palestinian Conflict International Law/Human Rights Religious Freedom

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/24/for-third-year-in-a-row-israel-blocks-h…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 95% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

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Appeal to Pity 90% confidence

Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

17 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 7

check_circle Corroborated 6

info Single Source 2

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verified Verified By Reference 1

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“For third year in a row, Israel blocks Hajj pilgrimage for Gaza Muslims”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that Gaza residents have been prevented from performing Hajj for a third consecutive year due to border restrictions.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An ongoing conflict between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel began on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets and artillery at Israeli positions following Hamas's October 7 att…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah–Israel_conflict_(202…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Israel and the Palestinians are engaged in an ongoing military and political conflict about land and self-determination within the former territory of Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli–Palestinian_conflict

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The All-Palestine Protectorate (Arabic: محمية عموم فلسطين; 22 September 1948–1959), also known as All-Palestine or the Gaza Protectorate, was a short-lived client state with limited recognition, corre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Palestine_Protectorate

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

“Hanan al-Hams was among the 3,000 Palestinians from Gaza scheduled to travel for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in 2024”

SINGLE SOURCE

While other sources confirm the general situation of Hajj pilgrims in Gaza, the specific detail about 'Hanan al-Hams' and the exact number of 3,000 scheduled for 2024 is not corroborated across the provided evidence results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. It encompasses the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, both of which are to some degree occupied by Israel…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza war has disproportionately affected children, who make up about 40% of the population of the Gaza Strip. In November 2023, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that "Gaza is becoming …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_the_Gaza_war_on_chil…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Israel’s war on Gaza, launched on October 7, 2024”

DISPUTED

The claim states the war was launched on October 7, 2024. However, Wikipedia and other sources explicitly state the war began on October 7, 2023.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war. It encompasses mass killings, deliberat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_genocide

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza peace plan, officially the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, is a multilateral agreement between Israel and Hamas that aims to address the ongoing Gaza war and broader Middle Easte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_peace_plan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian mi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“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”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm the Rafah crossing was partially reopened in February specifically for the evacuation of patients requiring medical treatment abroad.

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web search NEUTRAL — February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the leap day.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/February

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web search NEUTRAL — Palestinians evacuated from Gaza via Rafah crossing for urgent medical treatment.The crossing was partially reopened on 2 February, but the United Nations reports that only about 260 patients have bee…
https://anewz.tv/region/middle-east/18360/gaza-patients-evac…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Palestinian Health Ministry said only 29 patients requiring treatment abroad were able to leave through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Friday.
https://countercurrents.org/2026/05/thousands-of-palestinian…

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“getting out of the enclave is near to impossible amid an Israeli land, air and sea blockade in place since 2007”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The blockade of Gaza since 2007 is confirmed by both Al Jazeera cross-references and Wikipedia entries on the Gaza-Israel conflict.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when about 200,000 of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza–Israel_conflict

+ 2 more evidence sources

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“killing at least 72,775 Palestinians during the ongoing genocidal war”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results report death tolls in the range of 72,000+ Palestinians, including a specific mention of 72,775.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank) that make up the State of Palestine in the Southern Levant region of West A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“A ceasefire in October 2025 ended the war”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including a cross-reference and BBC News, mention a ceasefire in October 2025 and maps dated October 2025 related to the peace deal.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts.A 2023 ceasefire broke down, and a second ceasefire in Ja…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war

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web search NEUTRAL — Map of Gaza Strip dated 10 October 2025, showing area in Gaza where the Israel forces have agreed to withdraw to initially as part of the peace deal. The area is a thick buffer around the inside borde…
https://www.bbc.com/news/resources/idt-217c6a28-4a90-4d47-a9…

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web search NEUTRAL — October 9, 2025.Only after this humiliation was she allowed to pass. She spent months moving between Rafah and Deir Al-Balah, living in tents, waiting for the war to end. That moment came, briefly, du…
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/10/between-two-wounds-gaza…

+ 1 more evidence source

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“Israel... continues to occupy more than 60 percent of Gaza’s territory in breach of the truce”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that Netanyahu reported Israel controls 60% of the Gaza Strip, exceeding the ceasefire agreement.

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web search NEUTRAL — 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.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/24/for-third-year-in-a…

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web search NEUTRAL — More than 46,000 Palestinians had been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry. And the destruction has continued since Israel ended the ceasefire in March - including in Rafah in the south.
https://www.bbc.com/news/resources/idt-217c6a28-4a90-4d47-a9…

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web search NEUTRAL — “Today we control 60% of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu reportedly said during an event marking the anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem. The newspaper said the figure exceeds the area envision…
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260515-netanyahu-says-is…

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“According to Gaza’s Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, more than 10,000 citizens have been prevented from performing Hajj over three years due to the Israeli shutdown of the Rafah crossing”

CORROBORATED

Three separate web search results confirm the Gaza Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs' claim that over 10,000 citizens were prevented from performing Hajj over three years.

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web search NEUTRAL — Gaza ministry says about 10,000 Palestinians barred from Hajj over three years.SANA reported that Abu Sitta confirmed the siege and aggression measures have prevented more than 10,000 Palestinians fro…
https://newscord.org/article/israeli-genocide-war-deprives-g…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in the Gaza Strip said on Thursday that more than 10,000 Palestinians from the Strip were deprived of performing the Hajj pilgrimage during three years of t…
https://en.abna24.com/news/1814939/Gaza-Ministry-Over-10-000…

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web search NEUTRAL — According to Gaza’s Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, more than 10,000 citizens have been prevented from performing Hajj over three years due to the Israeli shutdown of the Rafah crossing, whic…
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/24/for-third-year-in-a…

info

“At least 71 Hajj pilgrims, who had won the official draw in previous years, died during the Israeli war before they could perform the ritual, according to the Awqaf”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific figure of 71 Hajj pilgrims dying is mentioned in one web search result, but no other independent sources in the provided evidence confirm this specific number.

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“A study published in May 2026 by the Palestinian Center for Political Studies (PCPS), authored by researcher Khaled Abu Amer”

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“The study reveals a complete collapse of all 78 licensed travel companies in the sector”

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“This destruction resulted in capital losses exceeding $4m, alongside an estimated $2-3m in frozen funds held by external agents”

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“Before the war, the sector injected at least $12m annually into the local economy”

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“The loss of this revenue has impacted more than 1,500 direct and indirect workers”

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“the annual Hajj quota of around 3,000 is currently being filled by Palestinians holding Gaza IDs residing in Egypt and other countries”

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“Thousands of spots have also been temporarily transferred to pilgrims from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem”

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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For third year in a row, Israel blocks Hajj pilgrimage for Gaza Muslims

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