NEW DELHI: In the oppressive heat and makeshift shelters, Gazans observed the beginning of Eid al-Adha on Sunday amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The usual festive spirit was absent.
“There is no joy. We have been robbed of it,” expressed Malakiya Salman, a 57-year-old displaced woman now living in a tent in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Typically, Gazans, like Muslims worldwide, slaughter sheep for Eid al-Adha, sharing the meat with those in need.Parents also gift new clothes and money to children during the celebration.
However, after over eight months of an intense Israeli military campaign that has devastated Gaza, displaced the bulk of its 2.4 million residents, and caused widespread famine warnings, Eid is a somber occasion for many this year.
“I hope the world will put pressure to end the war on us, because we are truly dying, and our children are broken,” Salman said.
Salman’s family was displaced from Rafah, a recent hotspot in the ongoing conflict that erupted after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel.
On Sunday morning, the military announced a “tactical pause of military activity” near a route in the Rafah area to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gazans.
Correspondents reported no strikes or shelling since dawn, though the Israeli military emphasized there was “no cessation of hostilities in the southern Gaza Strip.”
This brief pause provided worshippers a rare moment of peace on the holiday, which commemorates the prophet Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son before God presented a sheep as a substitute.
“Since this morning, we’ve felt a sudden calm with no gunfire or bombings… It’s strange,” said Haitham al-Ghura, a 30-year-old from Gaza City.
He expressed hope that this pause could signal a forthcoming permanent ceasefire, despite stalled truce mediation efforts.
In various parts of Gaza, particularly in Gaza City, young boys manned roadside stands selling perfumes, lotions, and other items against the backdrop of destroyed buildings.
Vendors shielded themselves from the blazing sun with umbrellas, selling household goods on Gaza City’s main market street. However, buyers were scarce.
For many, the cessation of fighting cannot replace what has been lost.
The conflict, the deadliest in Gaza’s history, started with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack, resulting in 1,194 deaths in Israel, largely civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory actions have led to at least 37,296 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-governed territory.
“We’ve lost many people, there’s a lot of destruction,” said Umm Muhammad al-Katri from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
“This Eid is completely different,” she noted, as many Gazans are spending the holiday without loved ones killed or displaced in the conflict.
On Sunday, grieving families visited cemeteries and makeshift burial sites, where graves were marked with wooden planks.
“I feel comfort here,” shared Khalil Diab Essbiah at the cemetery where his two children are buried.
Despite the constant hum of Israeli drones, visitors at the cemetery “can feel relieved of the genocide we are in and the death and destruction,” Essbiah said.
Hanaa Abu Jazar, an 11-year-old also displaced from Rafah to the tent city in Khan Yunis, voiced her feelings.
“We see the (Israeli) occupation killing children, women and the elderly.”
“How can we celebrate?” asked the young girl.
“There is no joy. We have been robbed of it,” expressed Malakiya Salman, a 57-year-old displaced woman now living in a tent in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Typically, Gazans, like Muslims worldwide, slaughter sheep for Eid al-Adha, sharing the meat with those in need.Parents also gift new clothes and money to children during the celebration.
However, after over eight months of an intense Israeli military campaign that has devastated Gaza, displaced the bulk of its 2.4 million residents, and caused widespread famine warnings, Eid is a somber occasion for many this year.
“I hope the world will put pressure to end the war on us, because we are truly dying, and our children are broken,” Salman said.
Salman’s family was displaced from Rafah, a recent hotspot in the ongoing conflict that erupted after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel.
On Sunday morning, the military announced a “tactical pause of military activity” near a route in the Rafah area to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gazans.
Correspondents reported no strikes or shelling since dawn, though the Israeli military emphasized there was “no cessation of hostilities in the southern Gaza Strip.”
This brief pause provided worshippers a rare moment of peace on the holiday, which commemorates the prophet Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son before God presented a sheep as a substitute.
“Since this morning, we’ve felt a sudden calm with no gunfire or bombings… It’s strange,” said Haitham al-Ghura, a 30-year-old from Gaza City.
He expressed hope that this pause could signal a forthcoming permanent ceasefire, despite stalled truce mediation efforts.
In various parts of Gaza, particularly in Gaza City, young boys manned roadside stands selling perfumes, lotions, and other items against the backdrop of destroyed buildings.
Vendors shielded themselves from the blazing sun with umbrellas, selling household goods on Gaza City’s main market street. However, buyers were scarce.
For many, the cessation of fighting cannot replace what has been lost.
The conflict, the deadliest in Gaza’s history, started with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack, resulting in 1,194 deaths in Israel, largely civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory actions have led to at least 37,296 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-governed territory.
“We’ve lost many people, there’s a lot of destruction,” said Umm Muhammad al-Katri from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
“This Eid is completely different,” she noted, as many Gazans are spending the holiday without loved ones killed or displaced in the conflict.
On Sunday, grieving families visited cemeteries and makeshift burial sites, where graves were marked with wooden planks.
“I feel comfort here,” shared Khalil Diab Essbiah at the cemetery where his two children are buried.
Despite the constant hum of Israeli drones, visitors at the cemetery “can feel relieved of the genocide we are in and the death and destruction,” Essbiah said.
Hanaa Abu Jazar, an 11-year-old also displaced from Rafah to the tent city in Khan Yunis, voiced her feelings.
“We see the (Israeli) occupation killing children, women and the elderly.”
“How can we celebrate?” asked the young girl.