Egypt allows 783 of Gaza pilgrims to embark on Hajj

Egyptian authorities on Thursday allowed around 783 Palestinian pilgrims from Gaza to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing at 9 a.m. to allow three groups to cross into Egypt. The first group contained 266 Hajj pilgrims, the second included 258 and the third 259 Hajj pilgrims, (Ma\'an) news agency quoted Egyptian officials as saying. The Egyptian director of the Rafah terminal Sami Mitwali told Ma\'an that Egyptian authorities planned to allow 841 pilgrims to pass on Friday. Egyptian authorities will also allow 517 Hajj pilgrims to travel on Saturday, the last day for Hajj pilgrims to embark on the journey to Saudi Arabia. The decision comes after Egyptian authorities on Wednesday forced over 100 Palestinian pilgrims to return to Gaza after having entered the country to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. Also on Thursday, the first large group of Palestinian Hajj pilgrims from the Gaza Strip arrived at Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, according to the media director at the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs Mohammad Nawahda. Assistant Undersecretary for Hajj and Umrah affairs Hossam Abu al-Rub told Ma\'an that he expected a total of around 6,000 Hajj pilgrims from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to perform Hajj pilgrimage this year.