GAZA, (PIC)
Amid a real famine, catastrophic humanitarian conditions, and non-stop bombardment, the residents of the Gaza Strip, about 2 million people, many of whom are now displaced in worn-out tents or shelter centers lacking the necessities of life, receive Eid al-Adha which is the second holiday they have experienced amidst the ongoing genocidal war for the ninth month in a row, in absolute sadness.
The aspects of the holiday have been completely absent, as no calves or sheep are seen around for sacrifice and the families and children have no joy left for Eid this year with no places to visit or play in.
Yet, Eid takbirs are heard from time to time in the Strip in an attempt by some fathers to celebrate the ritual despite the ongoing killing and destruction.
What kind of Eid is this?! a cry of pain by citizen Salem Hamid who said, “While the Arab and Muslim world is preparing for Eid, slaughtering sacrifices, and eating meat, Israeli occupation forces here in Gaza continue to slaughter us before the eyes of the entire world.”
Hamid told the PIC correspondent, “The Eid comes this year while we are searching for a piece of tomato, a cucumber, or onion only to satisfy the hunger of our children and women who are exhausted by starvation.”
Among the rubble, the boy Mahmoud Ahmed was carrying a gallon of water which is almost the same of his weight as he said, “We struggle to access our basic needs. The Eid has turned into a painful occasion in which we recall our good days.”
No sacrifices
Due to the bloody war and the death of thousands of sheep and calves as a result of bombing and starvation over the course of the war, and with no new livestock being brought in into the Gaza Strip amid a deteriorating economic situation as business has stopped and financial liquidity is almost non-existent, the option of performing the sacrifice ritual has no longer been available for the vast majority of the population.
No sacrifices will be performed this year in the Gaza Strip, except for some cases by a limited number of merchants who raise livestock in addition to some initiatives from donors abroad.
Khalil Abdeen, a sheep trader said, “There are very few sheep and calves available in the market; though their bodies are so weak, and their prices are doubled.”
The north is starving
Starvation is more severe in the northern Gaza Strip, where 700,000 people have been suffering from real famine since the beginning of last May. They have access to only small amounts of flour and canned food of beans and tuna.
The people of Gaza have nothing but their prayers to Almighty Allah to alleviate their ordeal and grant them soon victory and liberation.
