As Ramadan in Gaza Begins, Our Decorations Have Been Replaced by Graves

Throughout Ramadan, pleasure often sweeps via Gaza because the streets come alive with dazzling decorations and the nice and cozy glow of radiant lanterns. The alleys resonate with echoes of blessings and celebratory chants whereas folks collect, their hearts brimming with anticipation and happiness. Youngsters embrace the holy month with pure innocence and delight, carrying the hope of reunion and the spirit of unity that these sacred days nurture.

Ramadan is not only a time of togetherness; it’s a second when household and pals are certain collectively across the iftar desk, sharing not solely meals however souls — celebrating pleasure, reinforcing love and fortifying the bonds that tie us all in a deep, unstated affection. It’s a month that brings us nearer, fills us with gratitude, and reminds us of the facility of group and love within the face of every thing.

However what did the reunion of family members appear like within the Ramadan we spent within the shadow of battle? And what’s going to it’s within the Ramadan that comes after the ceasefire?

Throughout Ramadan, a peaceable stillness often settles over Gaza till the decision to Maghrib prayer alerts it’s time for iftar: our fast-breaking night meal. Households collect round tables crammed with conventional Palestinian dishes — on the primary day, we feast on maqluba (an overturned pot of rice and greens with tender meat) and a facet of molokhia (a dish made with inexperienced jute leaves, hen inventory and lemon juice). All through the month, meals are hearty but balanced, nourishing each physique and soul. After iftar, all of us head to the mosques for prayer and supplication, whereas kids fill the streets with laughter. Then come the long-awaited visits — family members reuniting, sharing tales and embracing the enjoyment that Ramadan brings into our lives.

However how completely different was the Ramadan I spent in war-torn northern Gaza in 2024, the place famine unfold within the midst of genocide! It was among the many hardest days of the battle — 30 days of not simply bombings, killings and destruction, but in addition hunger that drained our our bodies and spirits. For 20 days of Ramadan, we had been besieged, trapped in our dwelling, whereas an Israeli tank loomed on the street the place we sought refuge. The hazard was relentless, and I usually requested myself: Will I survive this?

I may hear the moms screaming for his or her kids underneath the siege, their voices crammed with desperation. The youngsters bled to demise, with no assist in sight. No ambulances, no hope. Many who tried to succeed in the besieged areas had been shot down by the Israeli navy with out hesitation. The partitions echoed with the cries of agony, and people sounds reverberated in my ears, a haunting silence that felt as suffocating as demise itself!

With each name to prayer, the earth shook underneath the drive of relentless airstrikes. One night, simply as folks sat down to interrupt their quick, a seven-story constructing was bombed to the bottom — crushing its residents beneath the rubble. Family members weren’t simply dying from airstrikes; they had been additionally dying from starvation. There was no meals. For 30 days, we broke our quick with nothing however plain rice — each single evening. Ramadan, as soon as a month of abundance, turned a month of survival.

At some point, because the bombing raged on, my mom ready a easy meal of rice for us. Abruptly, an explosion tore via the air, leaving my ears ringing. For a second, there was nothing. Then, the home crammed with thick, suffocating mud, carrying the sharp scent of gunpowder. I turned to see the devastation — a tank shell had ripped via our dwelling.

This was Ramadan in wartime — a month outlined not by prayers and shared meals, however by demise, gunfire and destruction. My coronary heart broke as I heard of whole households bombed whereas gathered for iftar. But, regardless of the overwhelming grief, I had already come to simply accept that demise may come at any second.

How unusual it was — only a 12 months earlier than, Ramadan was crammed with laughter, the heat of shared meals, the consolation of family members. However Israel’s battle on Gaza introduced starvation and demise final Ramadan, placing one after the opposite. As soon as, we met our family members across the iftar desk — however resulting from Israel’s assaults, we noticed a lot of our family members torn to items by airstrikes throughout the sacred time by which we used to collect.

Ramadan final 12 months led to tragedy and insufferable ache. I had held onto the hope, the idea, that the approaching Ramadan, which begins right now, can be completely different — lighter, and maybe marked by a ceasefire.

We do have a ceasefire, however has life returned to what it was earlier than? Sadly, I by no means imagined that the following Ramadan would convey much more struggling. This week I walked via the streets of Gaza, which ought to have been adorned in preparation for the holy month. As a substitute, I discovered myself watching shattered streets and the mosques the place we as soon as gathered for prayers — now lowered to ruins. The faces of the folks had been hole, their spirits dimmed. The streets, as soon as brilliant with lights, are actually consumed by the shadow of destruction. I’m wondering: What is going to the approaching Ramadan be like, when so many family members are now not with us? How will Ramadan be with out the houses we as soon as embellished?

A couple of days in the past, I met my cousin’s daughter, who misplaced her father to a coronary heart assault — his coronary heart may now not bear the ache and despair after shedding his mom within the famine, his dwelling and every thing he owned. He died from the grief brought on by this battle. She requested me, “How will Ramadan come with out my father?”

She had grown so used to his presence and his prayers for her. And her 6-year-old son requested me, with harmless eyes, “Will my prayers attain my father in heaven?” He’ll keep in mind his mom making ready the meals, and his father’s stunning voice throughout prayer.

How painful it’s to listen to such tales, and there are such a lot of like them. This can be a battle of annihilation, one which has worn out whole households, erasing them from the civil registry, just like the Saqallah household, which misplaced 42 members. Some households have been left with only one survivor. How will such an individual stay alone, feeling the crushing vacancy, particularly throughout Ramadan? As this month approaches, I’ve realized that the ache hasn’t eased, regardless of the ceasefire. In actual fact, we’ll really feel it much more acutely than earlier than.

Some households have but to seek out the our bodies of their murdered members of the family. Many are nonetheless looking underneath the rubble, hoping to get well their family members. Ramadan has begun, and they’ll proceed their search to convey them dwelling for a correct burial. I can solely think about how we’ll really feel on the primary day of Ramadan, in a metropolis suffocated by mud, ruins and the stench of demise. As I stroll via the streets, I see graves the place as soon as there have been decorations. In the present day, with each step I take, I stroll previous one other grave.

Ramadan, as soon as a sacred time for reuniting with cherished family members, has now turn into a solemn season of prayer — praying for his or her reunion in paradise, the place no sorrow, no battle, no distance can ever tear us aside once more. This 12 months, the iftar desk will stay empty of many who as soon as stuffed it with laughter and love. As a substitute, we’ll collect in spirit, holding onto the hope that within the afterlife, the embrace of these we misplaced shall be everlasting, unbroken by the cruelty of this world.