Palestine begins Ramadan with growing hunger and no sign of an end to the fighting with Hamas

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approached, Palestinians started fasting. The five-month-long conflict between Israel and Hamas is still ongoing, and cease-fire negotiations are at a stalemate.

Late on Sunday, prayers were said outdoors among the debris of destroyed structures. A guy sang over a megaphone as youngsters danced and sprayed foam in a video from a U.N. school turned refuge. Some people decorated their crammed tent camps with fairy lights and other decorations.

But after five months of fighting that has claimed over 30,000 Palestinian lives and left much of Gaza in ruins, there was little cause for celebration. Holiday feasts are often how families break the fast, but in the few cases when food is available, it’s mostly in the form of canned items, and the cost is prohibitive for many.

In celebration of the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a Palestinian youngster plays with fireworks adjacent to a residential structure that was damaged by Israeli bombings in Rafah.
In celebration of the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a Palestinian youngster plays with fireworks adjacent to a residential structure that was damaged by Israeli bombings in Rafah.Image | AP
“It’s rare to see someone with happiness in their eyes,” said Sabah al-Hendi, who went grocery shopping on Sunday in Rafah, the southernmost city. Every family is depressed. There is a martyr in every family.”

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Muslims stroll beside the Dome of Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
On the eve of Ramadan, the Israel-Hamas battle rages in beleaguered Gaza.

Prior to the customarily festive month-long fast that would have seen the release of scores of Israeli captives and Palestinian inmates as well as the inflow of copious amounts of humanitarian supplies, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt had intended to mediate a cease-fire. However, negotiations came to a standstill last week.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to carry out the attack until “total victory” over the terrorist organization and the release of all remaining captives, Hamas is seeking assurances that any such arrangement would result in an end to the conflict.

On October 7, terrorists headed by Hamas invaded southern Israel, murdering over 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and kidnapping about 250 more. This marked the start of the conflict. After an exchange last year, Hamas is said to still be keeping some 100 hostages, along with the bodies of another thirty.

Approximately 2.3 million people live in Gaza; the conflict has forced hundreds of thousands of them to the verge of starvation. According to health experts, dehydration and starvation have killed at least 20 persons in northern Gaza, the most of them were youngsters.

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Muslims stroll beside the Dome of Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
When the hunger in Gaza increases, another major contributor says it will start supporting the UN agency for Palestinians.
Since October, Israeli soldiers have essentially cut off the north. According to humanitarian organizations, Israeli restrictions, the continuous fighting, and the collapse of law and order have made it practically difficult to securely distribute food that is badly needed across much of the country.

Without specifying where residents will go to avoid the attack, Israel has pledged to extend its offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where half of Gaza’s population has taken sanctuary. According to President Joe Biden, attacking Rafah would cross a “red line” for him, but Israel would still get military support from the US.

In his yearly Ramadan statement, Biden admitted that the holy month falls “at a moment of intense pain.”

“Many Muslims will be thinking about the suffering of the Palestinian people when they meet throughout the globe in the next days and weeks to break their fast. I am really thinking about it,” he said.

Humanitarian organizations claim that although the United States and other nations have started airdropping assistance, the effort is expensive and inadequate. Although it will probably take many weeks for the sea bridge to be operational, the U.S. Navy has started moving the necessary equipment.

It was unclear when a ship from the Spanish humanitarian organization Open Arms, which was carrying 200 tons of food assistance, was scheduled to undertake a test run from neighboring Cyprus to Gaza. Israel says it is happy to receive supplies by sea and will check any cargo headed for Gaza before it departs Cyprus.

It is anticipated that the ship in Cyprus would reach an unknown site in Gaza in two to three days. The food is provided by the World Central Kitchen, an American nonprofit organization that was started by famous chef José Andrés. According to the organization, construction on a jetty in Gaza started on Sunday. When the ship docks in Gaza, a crane will unload the supplies, put it onto trucks, and move it north.

In addition to offering Israel vital military backing and defending it against international demands for a cease-fire, the United States has also urged Israel to take more action to prevent civilian casualties and to allow humanitarian relief.

At least 31,112 Palestinians have died since the start of the conflict, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with 67 of those deaths occurring within the last 24 hours. The ministry reports that two-thirds of the deceased are women and children, but it does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tally.

Because the terrorists operate in populated areas and station fighters, tunnels, and rocket launchers close to residences, schools, and mosques, Israel holds Hamas accountable for the number of civilian deaths. Without any proof, the military claims to have killed 13,000 Hamas militants.

In an interview with MSNBC on Saturday, Biden said that although Israel was entitled to a response for the strike on October 7, Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost.” “You cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead,” he said.

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Muslims stroll beside the Dome of Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
As the Gaza conflict rages, there is little celebration in Jerusalem’s Old City on the eve of Ramadan.