To what Ramadan in Gaza, from the ceasefire to war: NPR

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – It is 2 in the morning and three young men cross the rubble of a neighborhood destroyed by Israeli air strikes, beating a drum and singing Muslim songs.

They are noisy, and that’s the point. They wake up people, reminding them of eating before another day of fasting at dawn, during the sacred month of Ramadan.

This year, those who observe Ramadan in Gaza also follow the sounds of Israeli air strikes, war planes and drones.

During the second week of Ramadan in early March, Israel broke a brief ceasefire and regained the war in Gaza. The Israeli government said it was to put Hamas from freeing Israeli hostages.

Recent Israeli air strikes have killed nearly 1,000 people, including hundreds of children, according to Gaza health officials. The Palestinians evacuated their districts by order from the Israeli army.

I hope that the war could end was broken, while Ramadan ends this weekend.

“It is a psychological war,” explains Issam Zakkout, who does not know whether to flee his house or stay.

Food supplies are rare due to an Israeli blockade

This Ramadan, the people of Gaza find it difficult to find food.

Israel has enabled humanitarian aid to flow to Gaza during the brief ceasefire in January and February. But during the last month, he imposed a blockade in Gaza, except the entrance to all the help, even food.

Israel says it is to put pressure on Hamas. Rights defense groups say it is a collective sanction for civilians.

Help groups are now rationing supplies. The United Nations removes part of its Gaza staff.

In a community cuisine, hungry and tired people are waiting in a long line for a bean meal to quickly break their Ramadan.

Before the war, Fouad Nassar would break his fast with chicken, fish and kebabs.

“Every day, we have had good meals. We don’t need anyone’s help. Now, why am I online two hours for a plate of charity?” Said Nassar.

Make pizza inside an eviscerated microwave

At the top of the heaps of concrete debris from its destroyed building, Rana Al-Abadi Cuisine for Iftar, the meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan.

Before the war, Palestinian dishes of spicy chicken, rice and vegetables were served every evening of Ramadan. Now, it makes pizzas with canned mushrooms, canned corn, canned sauce and canned cheese.

She removed the inside from a microwave and transformed it into an oven, lighting an fire using bed mattresses that her husband collected under the rubble in their neighborhood.

The burned foam sticks to the pizza dough that its children will eat. She has no other choice.

“Before, Ramadan was full of variety, colors and flavors. Now we barely have anything,” she said.

A week of celebration was destroyed by the return to war

At the beginning of the sacred month, some families gathered outside for free Ramadan meals, organized by Egyptian charity.

Now, daily Israeli air strikes make it too dangerous to come together this way. In war, there is nothing to celebrate.

But for only a week this Ramadan, the families were able to gather, after months of travel, with long tables, among mounds of broken concrete and strings of lights powered by battery.

Families who had lost so much during the war could benefit from a time of relaxed quality together, like a family meeting, eat a Ramadan meal without war.