‘Eid of Sadness’: Gaza marks festival amid Israeli bombings, lack of food

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had little to celebrate as they marked Eid al-Fitr with rapidly dwindling food supplies and no end in sight to the Israeli bombardment.

Many held prayers outside demolished mosques on the day marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, as at least 20 Palestinians were killed on Sunday, most of them women and children.

The Muslim festival is supposed to be a joyous occasion, when families gather for feasts and buy new clothes for children – but most of Gaza’s two million Palestinians are just trying to survive.

“It’s the Eid of Sadness,” Adel al-Shaer said after attending outdoor prayers in the central town of Deir el-Balah. “We lost our loved ones, our children, our lives, and our futures. We lost our students, our schools, and our institutions. We lost everything.”

Twenty members of his extended family have been killed in Israeli attacks, including four young nephews just a few days ago, he said as he broke into tears.

On March 18, Israel abruptly ended a fragile two-month ceasefire as it resumed its intense bombing campaign and ground operations in Gaza. Israel has since killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians and has allowed no food, fuel or humanitarian aid to enter for four weeks.

Arab mediators are trying to get the truce back on track, and Hamas said on Saturday it had accepted a new proposal from Egypt and Qatar, the exact details of which were not immediately known. Israel said it had advanced its own proposal in coordination with the United States, which has also been mediating.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.