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Israeli restrictions leave Gaza's would-be Hajj pilgrims stranded

Najia Abu Lehia, a 64-year-old Palestinian woman in Gaza, mourns the loss of her husband and their shared dream of performing Hajj, as Israeli restrictions continue to block travel from the enclave. With only a few hundred people allowed through the Rafah crossing weekly, thousands of Gazans remain unable to make the pilgrimage, while separate restrictions also affect Eid al-Adha livestock.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 1 article Version 1 Coverage May 20, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

In a tent in southern Gaza, 64-year-old Najia Abu Lehia mourns not only her husband but also their failure to make the pilgrimage to Makkah together before he died a year ago because of war and border closures. Speaking from a tent encampment in Khan Younis, she told Reuters: "We registered and our names got selected for the Haj before the war. Then the war broke out here and it became a barrier."

Abu Lehia expressed her fear of dying before fulfilling the pilgrimage: "I am worried I'll follow him (die) while I'm longing to perform the Haj. But God willing, we hope to perform the Haj despite the constraints, despite the siege."

Coverage Comparison

The story of Najia Abu Lehia has been covered by two news organizations with distinct approaches. Al Jazeera focused on the personal tragedy, emphasizing the emotional weight of her unfulfilled dream and the loss of her husband due to the war. The framing centered on the blockade as a mechanism trapping would-be pilgrims, describing Abu Lehia as "stranded" in Gaza.

Dawn, a Pakistani English-language daily, provided a broader statistical and bureaucratic context. It included figures on travel numbers, border closures, and multiple official perspectives, including from the Israeli military body COGAT, Hamas, and UN officials. Dawn's coverage balanced the personal narrative with the wider humanitarian and logistical situation.

Key Claims

Najia Abu Lehia, 64, lives in a tent encampment in Khan Younis after being displaced. Her husband died a year ago due to the war and border closures, according to her account.
Before the 2023 war, at least 3,000 Gazan pilgrims made the Hajj every year, as reported by Dawn, citing Reuters.
Under a US-brokered ceasefire signed in October, Israel allowed a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing in February. However, only 5,304 people have traveled in and out of Gaza since then, according to Gaza's media office. Only a few hundred are permitted to pass each week, mostly the sick and a small number of escorts.
COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for coordinating aid to Palestinians, claims the Rafah agreement allows passage only for humanitarian cases, with traveler lists determined by Egyptian authorities and approved by Israeli security.
Abu Lehia was registered and selected for the Hajj before the war, but the conflict prevented travel. Watching footage of pilgrims in Makkah on her phone, she said, "We were supposed to be there, we were supposed to be there in these holy days."
Separately, Dawn reports that Gazans will mark Eidul Azha on May 27 without sacrificial animals for a third consecutive year due to Israeli restrictions. The agriculture ministry in Gaza describes the systematic destruction of the livestock sector. Before the war, Gaza imported 10,000-20,000 calves and 30,000-40,000 sheep annually for the Eid season.
COGAT claims it facilitates imports of meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy, with nearly 8,000 tons delivered in the past month. However, Hamas said aid deliveries had dropped to around a quarter of what was expected in May, and UN officials called for unhindered access for aid and goods.

Perspectives

The situation is seen from multiple angles:

Palestinian pilgrims: Najia Abu Lehia and other Gazans express frustration and sorrow at being unable to fulfill the Hajj obligation. Abu Lehia asks, "The border crossing is closed. Why is this happening to pilgrims? They want to fulfill their Haj obligation, they do not want to do anything else."

Israeli military (COGAT): COGAT frames the restrictions as necessary for humanitarian cases, with lists determined by Egyptian authorities and approved by Israeli security. They also highlight their facilitation of food imports, including nearly 8,000 tons of meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy.

Hamas: The group asserts that aid deliveries have fallen to a quarter of expected amounts, suggesting the ceasefire agreement is not being fully implemented.

The UN: Officials advocate for unhindered access for aid and goods, reflecting international concerns about the humanitarian situation.

How this outlet told it

Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC

Framing: Statistical emphasis on travel numbers with bureaucratic focus — Journalistic, balanced, includes multiple stakeholder viewpoints and official statements

Facts Included:

Najia Abu Lehia, 64, lives in Khan Younis tent encampment
Husband died a year ago due to war and border closures
Couple had registered and been selected for Hajj before the war
Pre-war annual Hajj participation of at least 3,000 Gazans
Only 5,304 people travelled in and out of Gaza since February per Gaza media office
US-brokered ceasefire signed in October with partial Rafah reopening in February
Only few hundred permitted to pass weekly, mostly sick and small number of escorts
COGAT claims passage limited to humanitarian cases with lists determined by Egyptian authorities and approved by Israeli security
Eidul Azha on May 27 without sacrificial animals for third straight year due to Israeli restrictions
Systematic destruction of livestock sector per Gaza agriculture ministry
Pre-war livestock import statistics (10,000-20,000 calves, 30,000-40,000 sheep annually)
COGAT claims facilitation of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy imports (nearly 8,000 tons)
Hamas states aid deliveries dropped to quarter of expected amount in May
UN officials called for unhindered access for aid and goods

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimNajia Abu Lehia's husband died a year ago due to war and border closures.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimOnly 5,304 people travelled in and out of Gaza since February, according to Gaza's media office.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimAt least 3,000 Gazan pilgrims made the Haj every year before the war.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimA US-brokered ceasefire was signed in October, with a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing in February.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimOnly a few hundred people have been permitted to pass through the Rafah crossing each week, mostly the sick and a small number of escorts.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimCOGAT claims the Rafah agreement allows passage only for humanitarian cases, with traveller lists determined by Egyptian authorities and approved by Israeli security services.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimGazans will mark Eidul Azha on May 27 without sacrificial animals for a third straight year due to Israeli restrictions.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimIsrael's military campaign since October 2023 has led to the systematic destruction of the livestock sector in Gaza.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimGaza imported 10,000 to 20,000 calves and 30,000 to 40,000 sheep annually for the Eid season before the war.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimCOGAT claims it facilitates imports of meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy, with nearly 8,000 tons delivered in the past month.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimHamas said aid deliveries had dropped to around a quarter of what was expected so far in May.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimUN officials called for unhindered access for aid and goods.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Al Jazeera, Dawn 16 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15