A Ramadan in Gaza like no other
Overshadowed by Israel’s war and hunger, Palestinians in Gaza are set to experience a Ramadan like no other. Half of the enclave’s 2.3 million people are squeezed into the southern city of Rafah, with many living in plastic tents and facing severe shortages of food.
Despite the hardship, some tried to find cheer by decorating their tents with lights and lanterns.
A Palestinian child plays with a sparkler in the ruins of a destroyed building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on the eve of Ramadan on March 10, 2024
Displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip decorate their tents with lanterns ahead of Ramadan, on March 10, 2024
Ramadan in Gaza – Overshadowed by Israel’s war and hunger
Palestinians in Gaza made preparations to observe the Muslim holy month of Ramadan under the shadow of an Israeli siege that has severely restricted food to millions in the besieged enclave.
Ramadan ‘will add to the tragedies’ of Palestinians in Gaza
As Muslims across the world welcome Ramadan, the holy month is received differently by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. With at least 1.7 million people displaced, more than 31,000 killed, and famine in northern Gaza, families have little food or water to break their fasts with.
“This year’s Ramadan is different from previous years,” said Emad al-Najjar, a displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza. “We are far away from our loved ones, our families, relatives and friends in the north. Everything is different.”
As Israel continues to block enough aid from entering Gaza, the little food available in markets is unaffordable. “I came here to buy but I can’t find anything to buy,” Sufian al-Yazji said. “There’s nothing, no dates or milk, or anything. One can’t find anything for their children. All these canned goods are full of germs that infect the stomach. We need vegetables and fruits to feed our children because they’ve weakened and will die from hunger.”
Difficult Ramadan due to food shortages and displacement
It is a very difficult time given that if we think of the overcrowded southern parts of Gaza, mainly in Rafah, the markets are either almost depleted of basic supplies or are at a very high price. People are still grieving and the fact that their families are torn apart, with some family members remaining in the northern part facing this acute famine, just makes them less excited about this holy month.
Everyone we’ve known has lost a family member or loved one or someone they knew from their networks, which makes it very difficult for people. People used to prepare and start the first day of Ramadan with festivities, decorations, lights and lanterns in the streets, markets and mosques, the vast majority of those are now destroyed.
Ramadan in Gaza: ‘Every family is sad, has a martyr’
As we’ve been reporting, Palestinians began fasting for Ramadan with no end in sight to Israeli attacks and worsening hunger. During the Muslim holy month, families would ordinarily break the daily fast with feasts but amid the war, even where food is available, there is little beyond canned goods and the prices are too high for many.
“You don’t see anyone with joy in their eyes,” Sabah al-Hendi told AP in the southernmost city of Rafah. “Every family is sad. Every family has a martyr.”
Awni al-Kayyal, a 50-year-old displaced Palestinian in Gaza, says the beginning of Ramadan “has been sad and covered in darkness, with the taste and stench of blood everywhere”. “We do not have any food for our iftar table,” he told AFP, referring to the fast-breaking evening meal, saying that Israel does not want Gaza residents “to have any joy during Ramadan”.
Gaza receives Ramadan with ‘grief, starvation and blood’: Imam in Rafah
Nader Abu Sharekh, an Islamic preacher, has told Al Jazeera from Rafah that “the whole world has forsaken” Gaza. “We address Muslims in every corner of the world. How can you accept seeing Gaza people suffer in this holy month,” he said. Abu Sharekh said Gaza’s residents are “forsaken, left with nothing, not even potable water”, adding that “people in the north of Gaza are forced to eat animal fodder”.
“Israel is slaughtering our people, innocent women and children … There is not a single house that is not mourning the loss of loved ones. And above all, we are starving to death,” he said. “The Gaza people are receiving Ramadan, the holy month, with grief, sadness, starvation and blood,” he concluded.
A sad Ramadan for people in Gaza amid Israel’s continued attacks
in Deir el-Balah, as Israeli bombing continues and the list of civilians being killed gets longer by the day, there is little to indicate that the festivities are on the doorstep. “This year’s Ramadan is starkly different,” said Atia Harb, 38, who had some old Ramadan decorations laid out in his market stall and was playing festive tunes, trying his best to attract customers despite the grim conditions.
“There is non-stop noise of bombs and racing ambulances.”
Families in Deir el-Balah can’t afford first Iftar meal
Gaza’s central city of Deir el-Balah, where more than half a million are taking shelter, does not have enough food in the markets for families on the first day of Ramadan. “I have now been working all day, selling wood since sunrise, but I haven’t earned enough to provide my family with an Iftar meal. It’s utterly heartbreaking,” Mohammed Jebril, a father of four children, told Al Jazeera.
The 40-year-old said he hoped the truce negotiations would lead to a deal soon. “My family is sick of canned food. They’re asking me for red meat or chicken; however, these are not available or are too expensive to buy. As a father, it’s too painful to not be able to provide what little my children are asking for,” he added.
Many residents of Gaza fear attending Ramadan evening prayers as Israel targets mosques
Mahmoud Al-Qeshwi, an English teacher in Rafah, has told Al Jazeera that the first day of Ramadan is “difficult” as finding food is still an obstacle, and it is being priced at about “10 times” the amount before the war. He said that he is working at a free volunteer food kitchen that provides hot meals to “tens of thousands” of displaced families.
As many Palestinians in Gaza attended Ramadan evening prayers, Al-Qeshwi explained that while there are still some mosques for people to pray at, “a lot of people are afraid to go”.
“You know that a lot of mosques are attacked, so it’s a difficult to go pray, and you know that they may attack. A lot of rockets may destroy everything around, so some prayers we pray at home,” he said.
Displaced Gaza residents extend well-wishes for Ramadan despite ‘deep wounds, bitter grief and heavy sorrows’
