The commencement of Ramadan this week in Gaza has been overshadowed by the affliction of an estimated 31,000 Palestinians who have perished in the wake of Israel’s aggression, a response to Hamas’s fatal incursion into Southern Israel on October 7th.
As the lapse in peace talks continues, the residents of Gaza face daily assaults from the Israeli military and are struggling with the need for essential resources such as food, water, and crucial healthcare services throughout Ramadan, a traditionally peaceful period.
Throughout Ramadan, followers of Islam abstain from consuming any food or drink from sunrise to sunset, breaking their fast with traditional meals and beverages, and participating in religious observances.
Ramadan typically combines reverence with abundance, prayer with elaborate iftar (breakfast), gathering together as family and joyful celebrations. Yet as 300,000 Gazans in the north continue to be deprived of sufficient humanitarian aid, fears of a looming famine and starvation are amplifying. As of Monday, Palestinian health authorities reported 27 deaths due to malnutrition and dehydration.
This year, Gazans are unable to indulge in Ramadan traditions at home or with extended relatives and local communities. The UN reveals that 85% of Gaza’s residents no longer have homes, the majority are jobless, and 1.4 million of the 2.3 million population inhabits Rafah and neighbouring al-Mawasi, accommodating in tents, educational institutions, and structurally compromised buildings, while dreading Israel’s prophesied southern offence.
The UN’s food and agriculture agency reports that 100% of Gaza’s residents face hunger as they commit to the demanding Ramadan fast. Gazans dependent on a diet of bread, canned beans, and minimal amounts of water, struggle with the lack of nutritious food to consume when concluding the fast. With a scarcity of water – not consumed during the fast – dehydration is a valid concern.
While Gazans may still be able to find dates to break their fast, a traditional apricot paste beverage associated with Ramadan is not as readily accessible. A small number of families have found traditional Ramadan lanterns – a vital element to light up tents and make-shift shelters during long electricity-free nights. Craftspeople who would manufacture lamps have been killed or forced to abandon their workplaces. Stores that sold lamps have been razed.
Amid the aftermath of destruction inflicted upon a hundred mosques, devout followers congregate in roadways swept clean of wreckage for their prayer rituals. Regardless of their sorrowful surroundings, youngsters are offered boiled sweets while family members, pals, and acquaintances exchange pleasantries by uttering, “Ramadan Karim. May Allah always guide and safeguard you during this Ramadan.”
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