diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 138a447b..b8f3f893 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ node_modules/
 npm-debug.log
 yarn-debug.log
 yarn-error.log
+package-lock.json
 
 # Expo
 .expo/*
diff --git a/ios/PagerGestureDelegate.swift b/ios/PagerGestureDelegate.swift
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2e3ad5f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ios/PagerGestureDelegate.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+import UIKit
+
+/**
+ Gesture recognizer delegate to handle iOS 26+ interactiveContentPopGestureRecognizer.
+ Allows navigation back gesture on first page while preserving pager functionality.
+ */
+class PagerGestureDelegate: NSObject, UIGestureRecognizerDelegate {
+  weak var collectionView: UICollectionView?
+  var currentPage: Int = 0
+  var scrollEnabled: Bool = true
+  var layoutDirection: PagerLayoutDirection = .ltr
+  private var gestureObserver: NSKeyValueObservation?
+  
+  func gestureRecognizer(_ gestureRecognizer: UIGestureRecognizer, shouldRecognizeSimultaneouslyWith otherGestureRecognizer: UIGestureRecognizer) -> Bool {
+    // Get the navigation controller
+    guard let collectionView = collectionView,
+          let viewController = collectionView.reactViewController(),
+          let navigationController = viewController.navigationController else {
+      return false
+    }
+    
+    // Check if this is the pager's pan gesture
+    guard gestureRecognizer == collectionView.panGestureRecognizer else {
+      return false
+    }
+    
+    // Determine which navigation gesture recognizer to check
+    var navGestureRecognizer: UIGestureRecognizer? = navigationController.interactivePopGestureRecognizer
+    
+    // iOS 26+ introduces interactiveContentPopGestureRecognizer for full-screen back gestures
+    if #available(iOS 26, *) {
+      // Try to access the new property safely using selector
+      let selector = NSSelectorFromString("interactiveContentPopGestureRecognizer")
+      if navigationController.responds(to: selector),
+         let contentPopGesture = navigationController.perform(selector)?.takeUnretainedValue() as? UIGestureRecognizer {
+        navGestureRecognizer = contentPopGesture
+      }
+    }
+    
+    // Check if the other gesture is the navigation back gesture
+    guard let navGesture = navGestureRecognizer,
+          otherGestureRecognizer == navGesture else {
+      return false
+    }
+    
+    // Get velocity to determine swipe direction
+    guard let panGestureRecognizer = gestureRecognizer as? UIPanGestureRecognizer else {
+      return false
+    }
+    
+    let velocity = panGestureRecognizer.velocity(in: collectionView)
+    let isLTR = layoutDirection == .ltr
+    let isBackGesture = (isLTR && velocity.x > 0) || (!isLTR && velocity.x < 0)
+    
+    // If on first page and performing back gesture, disable pager scroll to allow navigation
+    if currentPage == 0 && isBackGesture {
+      collectionView.panGestureRecognizer.isEnabled = false
+      
+      // Observe gesture state to re-enable when gesture ends
+      gestureObserver?.invalidate()
+      gestureObserver = otherGestureRecognizer.observe(\.state, options: [.new]) { [weak self, weak collectionView] _, change in
+        guard let self = self, 
+              let collectionView = collectionView,
+              let newState = change.newValue else { return }
+        
+        // Re-enable pager scroll when navigation gesture ends
+        if newState == .ended || newState == .cancelled || newState == .failed {
+          // Ensure UIKit updates happen on main queue
+          DispatchQueue.main.async {
+            collectionView.panGestureRecognizer.isEnabled = self.scrollEnabled
+          }
+          self.gestureObserver?.invalidate()
+          self.gestureObserver = nil
+        }
+      }
+    } else {
+      collectionView.panGestureRecognizer.isEnabled = scrollEnabled
+    }
+    
+    return true
+  }
+  
+  deinit {
+    gestureObserver?.invalidate()
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ios/PagerView.swift b/ios/PagerView.swift
index 4b866290..1959afc9 100644
--- a/ios/PagerView.swift
+++ b/ios/PagerView.swift
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import SwiftUI
 struct PagerView: View {
   @ObservedObject var props: PagerViewProps
   @State private var scrollDelegate = PagerScrollDelegate()
+  @State private var gestureDelegate = PagerGestureDelegate()
   weak var delegate: PagerViewProviderDelegate?
 
   @Weak var collectionView: UICollectionView?
@@ -37,6 +38,13 @@ struct PagerView: View {
         scrollDelegate.orientation = props.orientation
         collectionView.delegate = scrollDelegate
       }
+      
+      // Set up gesture delegate for iOS 26+ back gesture handling
+      gestureDelegate.collectionView = collectionView
+      gestureDelegate.currentPage = props.currentPage
+      gestureDelegate.scrollEnabled = props.scrollEnabled
+      gestureDelegate.layoutDirection = props.layoutDirection
+      collectionView.panGestureRecognizer.delegate = gestureDelegate
     }
     .onChange(of: props.children) { newValue in
       if props.currentPage >= newValue.count && !newValue.isEmpty {
@@ -45,9 +53,11 @@ struct PagerView: View {
     }
     .onChange(of: props.currentPage) { newValue in
       delegate?.onPageSelected(position: newValue)
+      gestureDelegate.currentPage = newValue
     }
     .onChange(of: props.scrollEnabled) { newValue in
       collectionView?.isScrollEnabled = newValue
+      gestureDelegate.scrollEnabled = newValue
     }
     .onChange(of: props.overdrag) { newValue in
       collectionView?.bounces = newValue
@@ -55,5 +65,8 @@ struct PagerView: View {
     .onChange(of: props.keyboardDismissMode) { newValue in
       collectionView?.keyboardDismissMode = newValue
     }
+    .onChange(of: props.layoutDirection) { newValue in
+      gestureDelegate.layoutDirection = newValue
+    }
   }
 }