A normally joyful Muslim holiday reminds families in Gaza of the cruel consequences of war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Last summer, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip celebrated the Muslim festival of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, as it should be: with large family feasts, meat shared with the 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 be surviving on canned food in stuffy tents. There is little meat or livestock in local markets and no money for holiday treats or gifts – just war, hunger and misery, with no end in sight.

“There is no Eid this year,” says Nadia Hamouda, whose daughter was killed in the war. She fled her home in northern Gaza months ago and now lives in a tent in the central city of Deir al-Balah. “When we hear the call to prayer, we cry for the people and things we have lost, and for what happened to us and how we used to live.”

Earlier this week, Muslims around the world celebrate the four-day festival of sacrifice known as Eid al-Adha. It commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail, as reported in the Koran. In Jewish and Christian tradition, Abraham is called upon to sacrifice his other son, Isaac.

Gaza was already impoverished and isolated before the war, but people celebrated the war anyway by hanging colorful decorations, surprising children with sweets and gifts, and buying meat or slaughtering livestock to share with the needy.

“It was a real Eid,” said Hamouda. “Everyone was happy, including the children.”

Today, much of Gaza lies in ruins and most of the 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes. After Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage, Israel launched a massive air and ground assault.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 37,000 Palestinians have died in the war. Most of Gaza’s agriculture and food production has been destroyed. People now rely on humanitarian aid, which has been held up by Israeli restrictions and ongoing fighting.

United Nations organizations warned that in the coming weeks, more than a million people – almost half the population – could be affected by famine on a scale never before imagined.

In early May, Egypt closed its border crossing with the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah after Israel captured the Palestinian side of the crossing, cutting off the only way for people to enter or leave the area. This means that virtually no Palestinians from Gaza can take part in the annual hajj pilgrimage that precedes the festival of breaking the fast.

Ashraf Sahwiel, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled Gaza City at the start of the war and who also lives in a tent, has no idea if and when he will be able to return.

“We don’t even know what happened to our homes or if we will ever be able to live in them again or if reconstruction is even possible,” he said.

Abdelsattar al-Batsh said he and his family of seven have not eaten meat since the war began. A kilogram of meat costs 200 shekels (about $50). A live sheep, which could be bought for just $200 before the war, now costs $1,300 – if it is still available at all.

“Today there is only war. No money. No work. Our houses have been destroyed. I have nothing,” said al-Batsh.

Iyad al-Bayouk, owner of a now-closed cattle farm in southern Gaza, said severe shortages of livestock and feed due to the Israeli blockade had pushed up prices. Some of the local farms have been converted into emergency shelters.

Mohammed Abdel Rahim, who has been sheltering in a building on an abandoned cattle ranch in central Gaza for months, said the farm-turned-shelter was particularly bad in winter, when it smelled of animals and was infested with vermin. When 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 good business ahead of the holiday. This year, his family can only afford rice and beans.

“I wish I could go back to work,” he said. “It was a busy time for me, bringing money home and buying food, clothes, nuts and meat for my children. But today there is nothing left.”

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Khaled reported from Cairo.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.