As Eid al-Fitr approaches, Amani Abu Awda's four children need new clothes, a festive item Muslims customarily buy to celebrate the holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. and started begging her for toys.
But the mother of four from northern Gaza is now sheltering with her family in a tent in the southern city of Rafah, far from the homes and festive atmosphere that once hosted extended family gatherings. There is.
“Oh my god, the prices are so high I couldn't buy anything,” she said on Saturday, days before most Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr. She said: “I had to go looking for second-hand clothes. Normally I would never have bought something like that. But I couldn't even find second-hand clothes.''
Eid al-Fitr – a three-day festival starting Wednesday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan – was once a joyous time in Gaza. But Palestinians in Gaza say there is little to celebrate, as Israel continues its military offensive and Gaza is under threat of starvation.
Abu Awda's family managed to take some clothes with them when they fled their home in Jabaliya two months ago. However, she said Israeli soldiers forced them to throw away everything they were carrying at checkpoints as they walked the treacherous path where some Palestinians have disappeared while in custody and some have died in Israeli airstrikes. said.
“What kind of Eid is this?” Abu Awda added. We have lost family members and loved ones. We lost our homes, we lost our safety. The feeling of death is always with us, the smell of death is everywhere. ”
Abu Awda said above all they want an Eid ceasefire.
Just as Ramadan, a month of day-long fasting and religious observances, was marked by bittersweet memories of how things used to be before Israel's war in Gaza, Eid is also marked by bittersweet memories of how things used to be before Israel's war in Gaza. will be characterized by a yearning comparison of how different they were.
Before the war, The mall was filled with families buying new clothes for the holidays and sweets to offer to all the relatives visiting in the days leading up to Eid.
Almost all of those relatives have now been evacuated, crammed with others into small houses or scorching tents made of plastic sheets.
There are many Muslims in the Middle East Visit the graves of your loved ones on Eid. But with so many people dying since the war began in October, many buried in makeshift graves or still unrecovered from beneath the rubble, keeping that tradition alive is difficult. This is now impossible for most people.
More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza after six months of Israeli shelling, the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
In Gaza City, some people have hung small lights and paper decorations on the streets. But it did little to combat overall dark feelings, said Alina Al Yaji, a 20-year-old university student.
“Instead of the wonderful smells of cookies, mamoor, sumakia and fasikh on the streets,” Al Yazzi said, naming traditional sweet and savory dishes eaten during Eid. And murder and destruction. ”
As she spoke, the sound of Israeli fighter jets roared overhead.
Sitting in a tent in Rafah, Muna Darhoub, 50, can't help but think back to past holidays before her family was evacuated from their home in Gaza City.
She said she doesn't make Eid cookies, mamoor or fasik because there is no cooking gas and all the ingredients, including flour and sugar, are either too expensive or in short supply.
She held out hope that she could at least find and afford the smallest gift that would bring a smile to her grandchildren: a lollipop.
For 22-year-old Mohammad Shehada, like other Palestinian men, he is expected to give financial gifts, known as idiya, on Eid.
In most Islamic cultures, adults give small eidiya to children. However, Palestinians give money to both children and adult female relatives. Even before the war, as a result of the 17-year land, air and sea blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and supported by Egypt, some Palestinian men in Gaza could not afford Eidiya. Now, in the middle of a war, Idiya would be nearly impossible for most people.
“The cheers from the children who gather around me when I give them Adiya. I won't be able to give them this year and it will be embarrassing,” he said.
Shehada hoped morning Eid prayers would still be held in the part of the mosque that serves as a haven for many displaced Gazans. He said he hoped he would be able to eat faseekh, the simplest fermented fish dish among the Eid delights.
“I have a lot of expectations for Eid,” he said. “But first and foremost, they must end this rebellious war.”