DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Last summer, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip celebrated the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha the way it’s supposed to be: with large family feasts, meat shared with those less fortunate, and new clothes and gifts for children.
But this year, after eight months of devastating war between Israel and Hamas, many families will eat canned food in stifling tents. There’s hardly any meat or livestock at local markets, and no money for holiday treats or presents — only war, hunger and misery, with no end in sight.
“There is no Eid this year,” said Nadia Hamouda, whose daughter was killed in the war and who fled from her home in northern Gaza months ago and is staying in a tent in the central town of Deir Al-Balah. “When we hear the call to prayer, we cry over those we lost and the things we lost, and what has happened to us, and how we used to live before.”
Muslims around the world will celebrate the four-day Eid Al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, early in the week. It commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as recounted in the Qur’an. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, Abraham is called to sacrifice his other son, Isaac.
Gaza was impoverished and isolated even before the war, but people still managed to celebrate by hanging up colorful decorations, surprising children with treats and gifts, and purchasing meat or slaughtering livestock to share with those less fortunate.
“It was a real Eid,” Hamouda said. “Everyone was happy, including the children.”
Now much of Gaza is in ruins and most of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes. After Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage, Israel launched a massive air and ground assault.
The war has killed over 37,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. It has destroyed most of Gaza’s agriculture and food production, leaving people reliant on humanitarian aid that has been held up by Israeli restrictions and the ongoing fighting.
United Nations agencies have warned that over a million people — nearly half the population — could experience the highest level of starvation in the coming weeks.
In early May, Egypt shut down its crossing into the southern Gazan city of Rafah after Israel captured the Palestinian side of it, sealing the only route for people to enter or leave the territory. That means virtually no Palestinians from Gaza will be able to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage that precedes the Eid.
Ashraf Sahwiel, who was among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled from Gaza City earlier in the war and is also living in a tent, has no idea when or if he’ll be able to return.
“We don’t even know what happened to our houses or whether we’ll be able to live in them again, or if it’s even possible to rebuild,” he said.
Abdelsattar Al-Batsh said he and his family of seven haven’t eaten meat since the war began. A kilogram (2 pounds) of meat costs 200 shekels (around $50). A live sheep, which could be bought for as little as $200 before the war, now costs $1,300 — if it’s even available.
“Today, there is only war. No money. No work. Our houses have been destroyed. I have nothing,” Al-Batsh said.
Iyad Al-Bayouk, who owns a now-shuttered cattle farm in southern Gaza, said severe shortages of both livestock and feed due to Israel’s blockade have driven up prices. Some local farms have been turned into shelters.
Mohammed Abdel Rahim, who has been sheltering in a building in an empty cattle farm in central Gaza for months, said the farm-turned-shelter was particularly bad in the winter, when it smelled like animals and was infested with bugs. As the heat set in, the ground dried out, making it more bearable, he said.
Abdelkarim Motawq, another displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, used to work in the local meat industry, which did brisk business ahead of the holiday. This year, his family can only afford rice and beans.
“I wish I could work again,” he said. “It was a busy season for me, during which I would bring money home and buy food, clothing, nuts, and meat for my children. But today there’s nothing left.”
A usually joyous Muslim holiday reminds families in Gaza of war’s punishing toll
https://arab.news/4bqck
A usually joyous Muslim holiday reminds families in Gaza of war’s punishing toll
A ceasefire holds in Syria but civilians live with fear and resentment
- The Arab-majority population in the areas that changed hands, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, have celebrated the SDF’s withdrawal after largely resenting its rule
- But thousands of Kurdish residents of those areas fled, and non-Kurdish residents remain in Kurdish-majority enclaves still controlled by the SDF
QAMISHLI: Fighting this month between Syria’s government and Kurdish-led forces left civilians on either side of the frontline fearing for their future or harboring resentment as the country’s new leaders push forward with transition after years of civil war.
The fighting ended with government forces capturing most of the territory previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the country’s northeast, and a fragile ceasefire is holding. SDF fighters will be absorbed into Syria’s army and police, ending months of disputes.
The Arab-majority population in the areas that changed hands, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, have celebrated the SDF’s withdrawal after largely resenting its rule.
But thousands of Kurdish residents of those areas fled, and non-Kurdish residents remain in Kurdish-majority enclaves still controlled by the SDF. The International Organization for Migration has registered more than 173,000 people displaced.
Fleeing again and again
Subhi Hannan is among them, sleeping in a chilly schoolroom in the SDF-controlled city of Qamishli with his wife, three children and his mother after fleeing Raqqa.
The family is familiar with displacement after the years of civil war under former President Bashar Assad. They were first displaced from their hometown of Afrin in 2018, in an offensive by Turkish-backed rebels. Five years later, Hannan stepped on a land mine and lost his legs.
During the insurgent offensive that ousted Assad in December 2024, the family fled again, landing in Raqqa.
In the family’s latest flight this month, Hannan said their convoy was stopped by government fighters, who arrested most of their escort of SDF fighters and killed one. Hannan said fighters also took his money and cell phone and confiscated the car the family was riding in.
“I’m 42 years old and I’ve never seen something like this,” Hannan said. “I have two amputated legs, and they were hitting me.”
Now, he said, “I just want security and stability, whether it’s here or somewhere else.”
The father of another family in the convoy, Khalil Ebo, confirmed the confrontation and thefts by government forces, and said two of his sons were wounded in the crossfire.
Syria’s defense ministry in a statement acknowledged “a number of violations of established laws and disciplinary regulations” by its forces during this month’s offensive and said it is taking legal action against perpetrators.
A change from previous violence
The level of reported violence against civilians in the clashes between government and SDF fighters has been far lower than in fighting last year on Syria’s coast and in the southern province of Sweida. Hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze religious minorities were killed in revenge attacks, many of them carried out by government-affiliated fighters.
This time, government forces opened “humanitarian corridors” in several areas for Kurdish and other civilians to flee. Areas captured by government forces, meanwhile, were largely Arab-majority with populations that welcomed their advance.
One term of the ceasefire says government forces should not enter Kurdish-majority cities and towns. But residents of Kurdish enclaves remain fearful.
The city of Kobani, surrounded by government-controlled territory, has been effectively besieged, with residents reporting cuts to electricity and water and shortages of essential supplies. A UN aid convoy entered the enclave for the first time Sunday.
On the streets of SDF-controlled Qamishli, armed civilians volunteered for overnight patrols to watch for any attack.
“We left and closed our businesses to defend our people and city,” said one volunteer, Suheil Ali. “Because we saw what happened in the coast and in Sweida and we don’t want that to be repeated here.”
Resentment remains
On the other side of the frontline in Raqqa, dozens of Arab families waited outside Al-Aqtan prison and the local courthouse over the weekend to see if loved ones would be released after SDF fighters evacuated the facilities.
Many residents of the region believe Arabs were unfairly targeted by the SDF and often imprisoned on trumped-up charges.
At least 126 boys under the age of 18 were released from the prison Saturday after government forces took it over.
Issa Mayouf from the village of Al-Hamrat, was waiting with his wife outside the courthouse Sunday for word about their 18-year-old son, who was arrested four months ago. Mayouf said he was accused of supporting a terrorist organization after SDF forces found Islamic chants as well as images on his phone mocking SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.
“SDF was a failure as a government,” Mayouf said “And there were no services. Look at the streets, the infrastructure, the education. It was all zero.”
Northeast Syria has oil and gas reserves and some of the country’s most fertile agricultural land. The SDF “had all the wealth of the country and they did nothing with it for the country,” Mayouf said.
Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Kurdish civilians in besieged areas are terrified of “an onslaught and even atrocities” by government forces or allied groups.
But Arabs living in formerly SDF-controlled areas “also harbor deep fears and resentment toward the Kurds based on accusations of discrimination, intimidation, forced recruitment and even torture while imprisoned,” she said.
“The experience of both sides underscores the deep distrust and resentment across Syria’s diverse society that threatens to derail the country’s transition,” Yacoubian said.
She added it’s now on the government of interim Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa to strike a balance between demonstrating its power and creating space for the country’s anxious minorities to have a say in their destiny.
