Across the war-torn Gaza Strip, Palestinians gathered early Friday to mark the start of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most sacred holidays, praying amid the ruins of shattered mosques and homes – a stark reminder that hopes for an end to the conflict with Israel remain distant.
With vast swaths of Gaza reduced to rubble, men and children were forced to perform the traditional Eid prayers outdoors, under an open sky.
Food supplies are dangerously low, leaving families to piece together whatever meager provisions they can find to observe the three-day festival.
“This is the harshest Eid the Palestinian people have ever faced, a direct result of the brutal war waged against us,” said Kamel Emran after prayers in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. “No food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes, no mattresses... The suffering is unimaginable.”
Eid al-Adha begins on the 10th day of Dhul-Hijja, the final month of the Islamic lunar calendar, coinciding with the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
