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STORY: Palestinian couple Mahmoud and Fatima Jarghoun have sold their jewelry so they could perform the haj pilgrimage to Mecca.

They have been yearning to make the journey for years.

But with no way out of the Gaza Strip, their dream of getting to Saudi Arabia has been shattered.

“They even want to deny us our worship, they even want to deny us the haj. I don’t know who we should complain to or cry to or speak to. Who should we go to? We ask God to relieve us (of this situation) and for them to open the border.”

Jarghoun said the deep disappointment of being unable to make the pilgrimage had compounded the pain inflicted by the war.

His home in Khan Younis has been destroyed.

He estimates the repair would cost some $20,000.

The haj is one of the five basic obligations of a Muslim and every believer who has the means should perform the pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime.

It begins on Friday (June 14). Pilgrims are already piling into Mecca for the occasion.

Some of them, like Alia Asmaa, say they hope to see a ceasefire deal.

"Our prayers are with Gaza and it is very sad to see people dying everyday so my wish for Gaza is that this war will end very soon."

Palestinians typically wait years for their turn after registering their names with the Palestinian authorities.

The couple said they had been waiting almost 18 years.

“Every year, we wait to go to haj and it doesn’t happen. I sold my jewelry and all that is in my possession because we had a debt due to the house that we built, we could not otherwise register. After our names came through, the war happened, and all our hope was lost. We were very happy that our name came through and we were going to go. At the end, all our dreams were gone. We were very, very upset.”

:: Beeri, Israel

Israel has besieged and laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip since launching an offensive in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas-led attack.

It killed some 1,200 people in Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

:: Khan Younis, Gaza

Israel's offensive has killed more than 37,000 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.