Over the period of Eid al-Adha, instead of partaking in festivities, Palestinians in Gaza were left lamenting the loss of kin, homes, and means to survive. Israeli offensives in the strip led to the untimely death of no less than 41 individuals on Sunday.
Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, is usually observed during the Hajj pilgrimage. This celebration recalls the narrative, shared by Islam, Christianity and Judaism, where God instructed the prophet Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of his son.
However, with the Israeli army’s closure and destruction of terminal buildings at Rafah, the only gateway in and out of the Gaza Strip into Egypt, residents were barred from journeying to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to partake in the Hajj— a key tenet of Islam.
While it was reported that about 4,200 individuals from the West Bank performed the Hajj, King Salman of Saudi Arabia extended an invitation to 1,000 Gazans residing outside the strip.
In the meantime, Gazans conducted prayers amongst the debris of the historic Omayyad mosque and approximately 800 others that were destroyed or damaged during the Israeli bombing campaign. Rather than partake in the Eid festivities, many visited the temporary burial sites of loved ones.
As a result of the Israeli attack — a retaliation to the Hamas’ onslaught on October 7th, which led to the death of 1,200 individuals in Israel – an estimated 1.9 million Gazan residents, out of the total 2.3 million, lodge in tents, deserted buildings, and schools. Over 37,400 deaths and 85,000 injuries have reportedly been confirmed by Gaza’s health ministry.
Water scarcity is a constant struggle for the Gazans due to pollution of wells and lack of power for desalination plants. Farmers who previously provided fresh produce are currently unable to cultivate crops or feed their livestock.
Humanitarian provisions are scarcely available, forcing families to survive on canned food and bread. War has led to the surge in the price of common staples like lamb, rice, and fresh vegetables imported from Israel. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation warned that by mid-July, about one million Gazans could be on the brink of starvation and death.
Over the weekend, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, conducted Eid festivities for displaced youngsters in the regions of al-Mawasi and Deir al-Balah. The traditional practice of gifting new apparel to children during this period is unfortunately unaffordable for many parents in Gaza. It’s reported by Unicef, the UN agency for children, that trauma and depression affects 100 percent of these children. According to the World Health Organisation, over 8,000 children under the age of five have undergone treatment for serious acute malnutrition resulting in 28 fatalities.
In East Jerusalem, under Israeli occupation, Israeli authorities barred young males and inhabitants of the West Bank from attending the special Eid prayers in the Old City’s al-Aqsa mosque. The customary gathering of approximately 140,000 has been trimmed down to 40,000 middle-aged and elderly East Jerusalemites.
In the meantime, when attempting to journey between towns and villages to visit kin, residents of the West Bank experienced considerable delays at Israeli checkpoints.