Gazans break fast without ‘joy of Ramadan’ as Israel attacks grind on
Al Jazeera
Palestinians in Gaza mark a joyless iftar on the first day of Ramadan against a backdrop of famine and displacement.
The first day of Ramadan arrived on Monday like others for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza: stalked by famine and disease, shivering in tents and threatened by bombs.
As the Muslim world welcomed the holy month and its customary daytime fast, many Gaza Palestinians faced bombardment that saw residents once more search through the rubble of destroyed homes for survivors and bodies.
A United Nations report, citing the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, said 25 people have now died from malnutrition and dehydration, most of them children, more than five months into fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The UN has reported particular difficulty in accessing northern Gaza for deliveries of food and other aid. Throughout the territory, people are feeling shortages even more during Ramadan.
In Gaza’s southern border city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people have sought refuge, the usually-generous iftar meal, marking the end of the day’s fast, was replaced by “canned food and beans”, said displaced Khan Younis resident Mohammad al-Masry.
