Gaza, MINA – In the war-torn Gaza Strip, Eid Al-Adha has lost its meaning for many families. Once a holiday marked by sacrifice and celebration, today it reflects only hunger and despair. With no meat, flour, or even basic supplies, the displaced population struggles to survive as famine tightens its grip, Palestine Information Center reported.
Aid trucks are nowhere to be seen. Long lines of exhausted people wait in vain under the blazing sun. The United Nations has been blocked from freely distributing humanitarian assistance, with Israel accused of turning food aid into a military and political tool.
“Flour has become the only thing we pray for,” says Um Saed, a displaced mother pushing an empty cart outside a crowded shelter. “We haven’t had bread in two months.”
The Eid tradition of sacrificing livestock is now a distant memory. For Abu Imad and his family, even boiling molokhia leaves for the holiday meal is no longer possible. “Now we just boil salt and water,” he says, holding an empty container.
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Doctors Without Borders has issued stark warnings of widespread famine, and reports from Gaza hospitals highlight a growing crisis of severe malnutrition—especially among children and pregnant women. Fainting due to hunger has become common.
While some aid shipments reach Gaza’s borders, their distribution is obstructed. Humanitarian workers report that Israel forces agencies to coordinate with its military, rendering aid vulnerable to looting or attack.
“Food has been weaponized,” says a relief worker anonymously. “People are starving, and aid is treated like a security threat.”
On what should be a joyous holiday, there are no new clothes, no sweets, no sounds of celebration. Displaced mothers distract their children with handmade toys crafted from scraps. In tents near Jabalia, Maryam, a mother of four, says, “Eid used to be a day of joy. Now it’s a reminder that we’ve been forgotten.”
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Despite the devastation, Gazans still hold onto hope. Mothers find fleeting moments of laughter with their children. Takbeer chants echo faintly through broken mosques. But until food is freely delivered and safety restored, Eid remains out of reach. []
Mi’raj News Agency MINA)
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