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The Changing Face of Ramadan in Gaza: From Hope to Despair

March 26, 2024
Abdul Rahman Al-Helou, 11, decorates the shelter tent to which he and his family were displaced in Rafah on March 10. Photo credit: Saher Alghorra/Instagram

  Ramadan of 2023 marked a positive beginning for Palestinians in Gaza, as they hopped from market to market shopping for food and decorating their houses. Little did they know that the following year would be one of the darkest and bleakest times in Gaza. The year 2023 was the first in many, where Gazans were feeling optimistic about the holy month, after years of Israeli wars, according to the New Arab. Palestinians were hoping for peace in the Gaza Strip during the holy month of Ramadan. “The peace and political understanding between the Gaza-run Hamas and Israel have made it possible for local families to mark Ramadan according to their traditions,” A 28-year-old woman in Gaza said in an interview referring to last year’s Ramadan. Gazans were decorating their streets and houses, visiting markets, and lighting up lanterns in 2023, contrary to this Ramadan, when people are not eating night or day, have no food to break their fast, and live in tents. Since the beginning of the war on 7 October 2023, 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced, 1.5 million of whom are currently living in tents in…


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