Eid Prayer Recitations Temporarily Rise Above the Noise of War in Northern Gaza
(Arab World Press) - Under heavy rain and the intermittent noise of bombing, displaced Palestinians in shelter centres in Gaza City, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, performed Eid al-Fitr prayers, with the Muslim takbeer recitation (declarations of God’s greatness) rising above the sounds of Israeli raids that have been ongoing for over six months.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians ended the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on the verge of an unprecedented famine, welcoming Eid in the most dire humanitarian conditions, resonating with the famous line by the poet Al-Mutanabbi: “How have you returned, O Eid – in what state?”
Mohammed al-Sharif, a Palestinian resident of Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, said, “We bid farewell to Ramadan under difficult circumstances and in conditions unlike previous Ramadans. We bid farewell to Ramadan with famine, and we bid farewell to Ramadan while lacking many things, such as flour, canned food, and many basic things that we needed but unfortunately missed during Ramadan.”
“We entered Eid with the pain of famine, which is unlike the times we used to experience during Ramadan. This Eid is devoid of Eid cakes and sweets that we used to distribute to children after Eid prayers. Praise be to God [anyway].”
Mahmoud Zaqout, a Palestinian boy, bemoaned the current situation amidst destruction and devastation, describing how he misses the Eid atmosphere in the displacement centres crammed with people from across the Strip.
He remarked, “This Eid feels bland. We were deprived of visiting others. There are no homes to stay in. We spend all our time in the school shelter centres.”
Zaqout added, “There are no usual Eid festivities. No gifts or money. No joy or games to play. No Eid atmosphere – an Eid without flavour.”
His comments were echoed by another boy, Hani Abu Jeyab, who shared the same feelings of pain and sorrow.
“There is no joy during this Eid. There are no gifts. We didn’t buy new clothes and didn’t experience the Eid atmosphere. We didn’t buy toys and couldn’t visit our relatives.”
More than 33,000 people have been killed and over 75,000 wounded in the Israeli war that has been raging in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas movement’s deadly attack on Israeli settlements and towns on October 7.