Watan-Gaza endured a terrifying atmosphere on the day of Eid. Instead of wearing new clothes and exchanging greetings and visits, children, women, and men who were martyred in Israeli attacks were wrapped in white shrouds. Residents—especially the hundreds of thousands who are displaced—lived in fear and anticipation of what the coming days might bring.
Instead of the traditional Eid takbeers that used to echo from mosque loudspeakers from the early hours of dawn, the sounds of Israeli aerial and artillery bombardments filled the air. The occupation army launched airstrikes across many areas of the Gaza Strip, killing civilians, including children. Among them were children killed in a displacement tent west of Khan Younis. Images of their bloodied bodies spread online.
Photos circulated on social media of two sisters killed in the airstrike on the tent. They were wearing new clothes, now stained red with blood. One heartbreaking image showed a young girl trapped under the rubble of the tent, next to her martyred father who had extended his hand to her, holding Eid money (Eidiyah). Scattered around them were pieces of sweets and biscuits the family had prepared to enjoy on Eid.
A Tent Instead of a Home
Many citizens felt unsafe leaving their homes to attend Eid prayers or visit relatives. Israel chose to continue its bloody escalation against Gaza and has so far rejected all ceasefire mediation efforts.
This is the third consecutive Eid that the family of Mohammed Naeem has spent in a displacement tent. This time, they are in Gaza City after previous rounds of displacement. Their first Eid after the Israeli assault began was in Rafah, and the second—Eid al-Adha—was in Mawasi Khan Younis. Now, the head of the family told Al-Quds Al-Arabi, “Nothing has changed… the tent is the same, and the displacement is the same.”
He sat with his brothers and father, who had chosen to flee together to western Gaza City. Their children played in a narrow space near the tents, none of them wearing new clothes for Eid. “There’s nothing that resembles Eid. We woke up to the sounds of bombings and news of massacres,” he said. Like other heads of households, his main concern was figuring out how to secure food for the family with the little money he had, due to rising prices and the severe shortage of food in markets caused by the Israeli siege—making new clothes for the children impossible.
This man, originally from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, was forced to flee again after Israel resumed its deadly assault earlier this month. He had returned home during a temporary truce that began on January 19, along with hundreds of thousands of others who had earlier fled north Gaza due to Israeli threats.
Fear and Uncertainty
During the conversation, one of his brothers interjected: “Everyone’s on edge. We don’t know what’s coming.” He added, “We might have to flee south again,” and expressed fear for his family’s future and his children, whom he described as “war victims.” He had hoped for a ceasefire to stop the war and massacres before Eid, but said sadly, “It seems happiness is forbidden for the people of Gaza.”
Conditions in northern Gaza are extremely dire since the war resumed—especially in towns like Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Jabalia. Israel has been issuing forced evacuation orders there since the fighting reignited. The military has carried out violent attacks and sent tank convoys into Beit Hanoun, forcing many who had recently returned to flee once more.
As of last week, the UN announced that over 200,000 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced again—on top of the hundreds of thousands already living in shelters during the truce. The number is expected to rise as Israel expands its ground offensive.
A Stolen Eid
Ibrahim Qassem, in his late 40s, hurried to visit a few neighbors in Gaza City’s Al-Nasr neighborhood. He expressed deep concern about what lies ahead. “Conditions here are terrifying since the war resumed. There hasn’t been a single day without bombing.”
Ibrahim Qassem shared that he couldn’t visit close relatives—including his sisters—who live in distant areas. Constant Israeli bombings have stripped him and many others of any sense of Eid traditions. His 14-year-old son wore a shirt he had received weeks earlier, trying to feel a glimpse of joy. But Qassem pointed to the sky, filled with the buzzing of Israeli surveillance drones, and said, “As long as these planes are flying overhead and we hear the sound of bombs every little while, no one in Gaza is safe.”
Parks Turned Into Shelters
Unlike past Eids, the streets lacked the usual lively movement of children playing or visiting amusement areas with swings. Most of those places—public parks or open squares—have now become camps for displaced families.
One of the most well-known areas for Eid celebrations in Gaza City was the Square of the Unknown Soldier, a large park with ornamental trees. This area, bulldozed in a previous Israeli invasion, is now filled with tents. All signs of joy are gone. Its residents are barely managing to survive.
Near one of these tents, a 12-year-old boy named Amr sat with his family. When asked about his feelings, he said, “Before the war, we used to play here during Eid.” He recalled the small motorcycle he used to ride and the nearby arcade he loved. “Now there’s no place for people to live. Everything’s tents. We can’t play or feel happy.” He remembered friends and relatives his age who have died in the war. He didn’t get new clothes this year either—his father couldn’t afford them.
A Simple Meal Instead of Eid Visits
Instead of family visits, Abdullah Awad focused on his family’s basic needs. He lit a fire on a wood stove to help his wife cook what little food they had, and to prepare bread, as he told Al-Quds Al-Arabi. He had suffered greatly during the previous intense siege on northern Gaza, and had to flee repeatedly with his family during the war—leaving home for weeks at a time due to heavy attacks.
According to the UN, the current siege on Gaza—which began earlier this month—is the longest since the war started on October 7, 2023. It has severely worsened conditions for the population. The World Food Programme has warned that thousands in Gaza face acute hunger and malnutrition as food stocks run out and aid routes remain blocked. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that everything in Gaza is running out—”supplies, time, and life.” The space where families can survive is shrinking fast, with new displacement orders issued by Israel every day.
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