Eid in Gaza Displays Palestinians’ Profound Loss — and Continued Resilience |
Struggle and Solidarity: Writing Toward Palestinian Liberation
Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.
After more than two years of Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, over 72,000 Palestinians are dead and more than 171,000 are injured, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Amid these enormous losses, we are observing Eid al-Fitr, the “festival of breaking the fast” that takes place at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The last four celebrations of Eid in Gaza have been marked by the sounds of warplanes, gunfire, and shelling. Although this year’s Eid arrives without the sounds of war that residents of Gaza had grown accustomed to during past Eids, signs of joy remain limited. Thousands of families have lost their homes and loved ones, while many live in shelters or among the ruins of their houses, altering the traditional rhythms and customs of the holiday.
In the years before the genocide, mornings in Gaza during Eid were marked by thousands of worshippers flocking to mosques for the Eid prayer. But these rituals have changed significantly following Israel’s assault, which also affected places of worship. According to the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza, 1,109 out of 1,244 mosques in the Strip have been either completely or partially destroyed since the beginning of the war in October 2023, rendering most of them unusable. With many mosques no longer available, residents this year were forced to perform Eid prayers in small open-air prayer spaces, streets, or tents in displacement centers, reflecting how the war has altered even the most enduring religious practices in Gazan life.
1,109 out of 1,244 mosques in the Strip have been either completely or partially destroyed since the beginning of the war in October 2023, rendering most of them unusable.
1,109 out of 1,244 mosques in the Strip have been either completely or partially destroyed since the beginning of the war in October 2023, rendering most of them unusable.
Mohammad Al-Hajj, the imam of the Martyrs of Al-Aqsa Mosque, spoke with Truthout about how Eid rituals have changed since the war. He explained that preparations for Eid used to begin days in advance, with worshippers volunteering to clean and organize the mosque ahead of the Eid prayer, which would gather hundreds of neighborhood residents. He added that children would arrive at the mosque in their new........