Palestinians in Gaza await Eid with food shortages and endless war

2025-03-30 14:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had little to celebrate on Sunday as the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday began, as food supplies are dwindling rapidly and the war between Israel and Hamas shows no end in sight.

Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Many people prayed Eid prayers outside destroyed mosques on Sunday.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and should be a joyous event, when families gather for feasts and buy new clothes for children - but most of the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are simply trying to survive.

"It is the Eid of Sadness," said Adel al-Shaer after attending the outdoor Eid prayer in the central city of Deir al-Balah.

"We lost our loved ones, our children, our lives and our future. We lost our students, our schools and our institutions. We lost everything," he said.

He said through tears that 20 members of his extended family have been killed by Israeli attacks, including four of his young grandchildren just a few days ago.

Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas and resumed the war in early March after the militant group refused to accept changes to the agreement reached in January.

Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of Palestinians, and Israel has not allowed food, fuel or humanitarian aid to enter for four weeks.

"There is killing, displacement, hunger and a siege," said Saed al-Kourd, another believer.

"We go out to perform God's rituals just to make the children happy, but what about the joy of Eid? There is no Eid," he added.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

Hamas is still holding 59 hostages - 24 of whom are believed to be still alive - after most of the others were released through previous ceasefires or agreements.

Israel's bombings and ground attacks have killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its statistics.

Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence of this.

Israel's war has devastated large parts of Gaza and, at its peak, forced about 90% of the population to be internally displaced, in some cases multiple times./ REL