Ramadan in Gaza: A Fast Without Joy

With the dawn of Wednesday, the holy month of Ramadan enters the Gaza Strip, but it arrives not as a welcome guest, but as a mirror reflecting a life burdened by destruction, siege, and loss. In exhausted cities and homes reduced to rubble, and in tattered tents sheltering thousands of displaced people, Gazans welcome Ramadan for the third consecutive year amidst bombardment, hunger, and a lack of hope. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to violate the ceasefire, leaving life in the Strip hostage to fear, death, and loss.

This year, Ramadan in Gaza is not a month of joy, but a living testament to the suffering of a people who insist on living despite all hardships.

A Ramadan Without Its Features… A Life Postponed

In cities that have lost their character and homes reduced to rubble, Ramadan rituals are no longer possible as they once were. More than 90% of the Gaza Strip’s population now relies on humanitarian aid, while iftar tables have become empty chairs, their occupants gone, victims of a war of annihilation that has claimed over 72,000 martyrs and left 171,000 wounded.

The tents sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced people offer no protection from the winter cold or from bullets. With the occupation’s continued violations of the ceasefire, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire was declared in October 2015, the majority of them children and women, confirming that death remains a constant presence in the details of daily life.

Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa: Ramadan Under Restrictions

Meanwhile, Al-Aqsa Mosque is witnessing an unprecedented escalation ahead of Ramadan. The occupying authorities have prevented the Islamic Waqf Department from implementing any preparations to receive worshippers, including installing canopies and setting up field clinics. Since the beginning of the year, they have issued more than 250 orders barring Palestinians from the mosque.

Extremist groups have also extended the hours of their incursions into Al-Aqsa, and the occupying power has imposed strict restrictions on the entry of Palestinians, especially from the West Bank, limiting the number of worshippers and age groups, in an attempt to impose a new reality that infringes upon freedom of worship and the legal and historical status of the mosque.

Daily Violations and a Truce Without Guarantees
Despite the ceasefire agreement, the occupying power continues its military violations in various areas of the Gaza Strip: shelling, demolishing buildings, shooting at displaced persons, and arresting fishermen at sea, in addition to directly targeting residential neighborhoods in Khan Younis, Gaza City, and Jabalia.

These violations have raised the death toll since the ceasefire to 603 martyrs and 1,618 injuries, while ambulance and civil defense teams remain unable to reach victims trapped under the rubble.

The health system is on the verge of collapse.

The health situation in Gaza is nearing a point of no return. Hospitals are operating at limited capacity, there is a severe shortage of medicine, and an electricity crisis is threatening the lives of patients, especially in intensive care units and neonatal wards.

More than 2,000 patients and wounded individuals urgently need treatment abroad, in addition to approximately 350,000 patients with chronic illnesses who are at risk of death, due to the prevention of medical supplies and fuel from entering Gaza and the near-complete halt of humanitarian aid, according to international organizations.

Warnings of internationalizing the crisis through security measures.

Palestinian NGOs have warned against the return of an American security company to work in Gaza, considering it an indication of intentions to deepen the humanitarian crisis, especially given the company’s record of alleged violations against civilians during aid distribution.

These parties fear that this path will lead to the imposition of new security realities and further forced displacement of the population, instead of addressing the root causes of the humanitarian catastrophe.

Resilience Under Oppression
Despite this grim scene, Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem continue to cling to life and create meaning amidst the loss. Children make paper lanterns, mothers try to preserve what remains of Ramadan traditions inside tattered tents, and paramedics continue to work with meager resources.

This year, Ramadan in Gaza is not a month of joy, but a living testament to the suffering of a people and to the fact that a truce without justice and security does not mean the end of the war, but rather its continuation with different tools.
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