GAZA, (PIC)
For the second consecutive year, Eid al-Fitr arrives in Gaza amidst destruction, bombardment, the loss of lives, and hunger, where joy is absent and replaced by cries and mourning.
Eighteen months of continuous war have turned the holiday in the besieged enclave into just another day of pain and tragedy, with no homes welcoming visitors, no bustling markets filled with buyers, and no squares brimming with children’s laughter.
Eid in Gaza has become merely a memory, as the little ones who once awaited it in new clothes and with colorful toys now spend it amidst rubble or in displacement camps, searching for a life they have lost under bombardment and siege.
A holiday in the shadows of death and displacement
In the streets of Gaza, which used to be adorned with lights and lanterns every Eid, today there is only destruction and debris.
The markets that once overflowed with sweets and new clothes have become ruins, and the shops are either destroyed or empty due to the blockade. Thousands of families have lost their homes, and millions of dreams have been buried beneath the rubble.
Um Mohammed, a displaced woman from northern Gaza living in a tent in Deir al-Balah, looks at her children sadly and says, “Eid used to be a joy, a gathering of family and loved ones, but today we are displaced, sitting in a tent, and we can’t even afford new clothes for our children. How can we celebrate?”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud, a ten-year-old boy, holds his old toy that he salvaged from the ruins of his destroyed home and says quietly, “I wish I had new clothes, to play with my friends, to visit my grandparents… but our house is gone, and so are they… Eid is not Eid.”
Eid Food… A distant dream
In Gaza, where Eid was once welcomed with cakes, the aroma of coffee, and abundant tables, obtaining a morsel of food has become a daily battle. The lack of food and water makes even the simplest manifestations of Eid impossible.
Abu Khaled, standing in line for food aid, says, “Our children used to wake up on Eid to find breakfast ready, Eid sweets, chocolates, nuts… today we wake up to nothing but dry bread, if we find it!”
Gaza’s message to the world: Do you hear our moans?
On the second Eid under siege and bombardment, the people of Gaza send a message to the world: “Enough silence… enough neglect… we are dying, our children are burning, our dreams are buried under the rubble. Where is the world in our tragedy?”
Eid is no longer an occasion for joy in Gaza; it has become a painful reminder of what its people have lost. With each new bombardment and each martyr that falls, the pain increases, but there remains hope that this war will end, so that Eid may one day return filled with true joy, not the sorrow of loss and displacement.
