A usually joyous Muslim holiday reminds families in Gaza of war’s punishing toll

Last summer, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip celebrated the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha the way it’s supposed to be: with large family feasts, meat shared with those less fortunate, and new clothes and gifts for children.

But this year, after eight months of devastating war between Israel and Hamas, many families will eat canned food in stifling tents. There’s hardly any meat or livestock at local markets, and no money for holiday treats or presents — only war, hunger and misery, with no end in sight.

“There is no Eid this year,” said Nadia Hamouda, whose daughter was killed in the war and who fled from her home in northern Gaza months ago and is staying in a tent in the central town of Deir al-Balah. “When we hear the call to prayer, we cry over those we lost and the things we lost, and what has happened to us, and how we used to live before.”

Muslims around the world will celebrate the four-day Eid Al Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, early in the week. It commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as recounted in the Quran. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, Abraham is called to sacrifice his other son, Isaac.

A Palestinian woman prays near the grave of a relative at a makeshift cemetery in Al Tuffah, Gaza City, on Sunday. AFP

Israel's military said Sunday it would "pause" fighting around a south Gaza route daily to facilitate aid deliveries, following months of warnings of famine in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The announcement also comes on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha.

Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators have been pushing for a new truce since a one-week pause in November which also saw hostages released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli jails, and increased aid deliveries into the Palestinian territory.

But as diplomatic efforts have stalled, fears of the war spilling over into a broader Middle East conflict have been rekindled in recent days by an escalation of tit-for-tat violence between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.

Agencies