Celebrating the Ramadan in Gaza: long table among the destruction

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, a period of fast and prayer following the moon cycle, started on March 01^st and will last about 29 days. 

In the Gaza Strip, it is a very meaningful event in a mood of war and destruction. In Rafah, thousands of Palestinians gathered to share the iftar, the meal interrupting the daily fast, sitting around a long table among the ruins. Under hanging lights, volunteers work to offer a moment of the daily life to the community.

Meanwhile, the weak balance of the truce has been tested. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped the entering of the humanitarian aids into Gaza and interrupted the second phase of the agreement dictating the withdrawal of the Israeli troops. “No free food until the liberation of the hostages”, he stated, provoking Hamas’ immediate reaction. Hamas condemned Netanyahu’s decision, defining it an “extortion” and an “obstacle to the ceasefire”. The organization asked for the intervention of the international mediators to stop the sanctions against the civil population.

Despite the political uncertainty, the Palestinian community tried to respect the traditions. In Khan Younis and Gaza City, as well as in other cities in the Strip, several community meals had place to celebrate the holy month. The pictures captured by the drones show long queues of people sitting along dirt roads, surrounded by destroyed buildings, in a collective act of resilience and faith.

“Today we bring back the joy on people’s faces, among these ruins and this destruction”, stated Walid Abdel Wahab, one of the organizers of the event. The images of the collective iftar, shared on the social networks, show a population determined not to give up on their own cultural and religious identity, with chants and traditional music.

This is the second Ramadan that the population in Gaza lives in a war context, burst with Hamas’ attack to Israel on October 07^th 2023 and followed by month of military operations and bombings.

Internationally, the Muslim community celebrates Ramadan differently from the one celebrated in Gaza. While in the Arabic countries and in the West area of the world people share food, pray in the mosques and spend time with their families, in Gaza every day is a fight to survive. Despite the hard time, the local population rely on their spirituality, trying to feel the essence of the feast.

In the refugees’ camps and in the devastated areas, the humanitarian organizations try to distribute the food, but the restrictions imposed by the Israeli government impede it. The appeals of the international community for a lasting ceasefire intensify, nonetheless the humanitarian situation keeps worsening.

For the Palestinians in Gaza, Ramadan is a symbol of resistance and hope, a moment of unity lived with the fear of a new escalation and the wish for a lasting peace.

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