Cairo: Palestinian woman Maysan Hassan, who has lost 150 family members and relatives in the Gaza war, finds solace in having got the chance to perform this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, an obligatory Islamic duty.
She is one of hundreds of Palestinians invited by a Saudi state programme to come to the kingdom to perform the Hajj.
Recalling her tragedy in Gaza, Maysan said she had lost this large number of kinfolk in Israeli bombing of their houses in the Ramal neighbourhood of Gaza City to which they had earlier fled for safety from Israel’s military campaign in the coastal enclave.
“All my family had gone to Al Ramal after their houses were raided and bombarded by the Israeli army. However, the bombardment followed them in Al Ramal where all their houses were destroyed and razed to the ground,” she said.
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Maysan, who was a refugee in southern Gaza where communication was virtually cut, learnt about her family’s deaths from TV news.
Only 25 dead members were buried while the rest are still under the rubble, according to her.
The news of hosting her to perform the Hajj has come to alleviate her plight and feelings of bereavement, giving her the chance to have a unique spiritual experience at the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
Around 2,000 Palestinians are hosted this year to make the holy journey under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Guests Programme for Hajj, Umrah and Visit that the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs oversees and implements.
They include 1,000 Gaza family members of people killed or injured in the Israeli attacks.
Since its initiation 28 years ago, the programme has hosted thousands of Muslims from around 140 countries, according to Saudi official figures.
