Gaza Begins Eid Celebrations Amidst Debris, Amidst Persistent Scarcity of Food
Ramshackle Gaza: A Desolate Eid al-Adha Amid Destruction
Gaza Strip, 2023 - The echoes of praying voices resonate through the shattered remnants of mosques and homes as Palestinians, grappling with the wreckage, celebrate the onset of Eid al-Adha. The festive spirit fades in the face of a bleak reality, where hope for an imminent end to the conflict is minimal.
With most of Gaza reduced to rubble, residents are forced to hold their prayers in open spaces, far from the sanctuaries they once knew. Food supplies are dwindling, forcing families to make do with whatever meager resources they manage to scrounge together for the three-day celebration.
"This is the most dismal Eid the Palestinian people have ever faced because of the brutal war waged against us," Kamel Emran, a resident of Khan Yunis, stated after attending prayers. "There's no food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes, and no comforts... The conditions are incredibly harsh."
The Islamic holiday begins during the Hajj season in Saudi Arabia's Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja. Yet, once more, Gazans are unable to partake in the traditional pilgrimage.
In the midst of the ruins of a graveyard near a partially collapsed mosque in Gaza City, Sanaa Al-Ghola, a displaced woman from Shejaiyah, sought solace. She had come to pray for her son, Mohamed al-Ghoul, who she claims was killed in shelling last month while fetching flour from his grandfather's house. His father was wounded in the same attack.
"We've lost our house, our fortune, and everything we had," she wept, clutching her son's photograph. "Eid is no more after you've left us, my son."
Families in a displacement tent camp in Muwasi endured a dismal first day of Eid al-Adha. Tahrir Abu Jazar, 36, of Rafah, heated leftover lentils and prepared rice in her tent, but admitted she couldn't feed her five children, who sat on the bare ground nearby.
"There are no Eid celebrations now, as there's no new clothes, no ceremonial meat, no monetary gifts, and no joy," she reminisced over Eid days untouched by war. "My son went out to celebrate Eid, scared of the constant warplanes, and came back."
Israel sounds the alarm
In the southern city of Rafah, nine individuals were killed while making their way to collect humanitarian aid at various distribution points, as per reports from Nasser Hospital in neighboring Khan Yunis, where the victims were taken. According to the Israeli military, it's investigating the hospital's claim.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a coalition of predominantly American contractors that Israel wants to replace humanitarian organizations coordinating aid in Gaza with the UN, stated that incidents in Rafah were misrepresented, and aid distribution transpired without incident.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces issued a new warning to residents in northern Gaza, indicating impending military operations in an area suspected of launching rockets towards Israel.
In simultaneous developments, four Israeli soldiers were killed in Khan Yunis following an explosion during a search of a Hamas compound, according to a military spokesperson, Effie Defrin. Five soldiers were wounded, with one suffering serious injuries.
The hostilities erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants staged a surprise attack on Israel, resulting in over 1,200 civilian casualties, primarily non-combatants. Hamas is still holding 56 hostages, approximately a third of whom are believed to be alive. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered numerous bodies during the conflict.
Since the beginning of the offensive, Israel has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. This human toll includes civilians and combatants, with exact numbers disputed. The offensive has also ravaged much of Gaza and displaced nearly 90% of its population of around 2 million Palestinians.
U.N. issues famine warning
Following a two-month blockade, Israel has gradually started allowing some aid supplies to enter Gaza, but the United Nations struggles to distribute much of it due to Israeli military curbs on movement and hazardous routes subject to looting.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome declared that Gaza's population is projected to plunge into acute food insecurity by September, with nearly half a million individuals experiencing extreme food deprivation, leading to malnutrition and starvation.
Over the past fortnight, nearly daily shootings have erupted in the Gaza Strip close to new hubs where desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Eyewitnesses claim Israeli troops have retaliated with gunfire, leading to more than 80 fatalities, according to hospital officials in Gaza.
Israel maintains that Hamas is siphoning off aid and obstructing its delivery, while alleging that soldiers have opened fire only in response to perceived threats. The GHF temporarily halted aid distribution due to excessive crowding, assuring residents to return once processes were streamlined.
Shurafa writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Further Reading
Four Palestinians die in storming of U.N. food warehouse a day after gunfire at new Gaza aid site
31 Palestinians killed en route to Gaza aid site, witnesses say. Israel denies responsibility
U.S. and Israeli-backed group halts food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings
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