Gaza pilgrims fail to travel due to closure of Rafah crossing

The Palestinian ministry of religious affairs in Gaza said it is unable to have the passports of the registered pilgrims stamped because of the closure of the Rafah border crossing and Al-Arish airport by the Egyptian army.

In a press release on Sunday, the ministry stated that the Egyptian authorities sent back the last batch of pilgrims who were supposed to travel to Makah last Wednesday, while 900 others became stranded at Jeddah airport or in hotels and failed to return to Gaza as a result of the closure of Al-Arish airport.

In this regard, minister of religious affairs Ismail Radwan led a delegation to Saudi Arabia to visit the Palestinian pilgrims stranded in the kingdom and meet their needs.

Radwan met with the pilgrims in the hotels they are staying in and reassured them that the ministry is making strenuous efforts to solve their issue