A child collects pasta mixed with sand to break his fast with his family (social networking sites)
The tragedies of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, as thousands of families struggle to provide breakfast and suhoor meals in light of the scarcity of food supplies and assistance provided in shelters for the displaced in Rafah, south of the Strip.
Palestinian journalist Hamouda Shaheen published a video clip documenting a touching conversation by an elderly Palestinian who said that he had eaten suhoor and broke his fast on the first day of Ramadan with water only.
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The elderly man added, "I suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart. I have a disability in my hand. My eldest son has been injured for years, and my younger son was also injured in this war. I lost 93 martyrs from my family in the war, and I cannot run to get aid meals."
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A post shared by Mohamed Shahin (@hamoda_shahen)
He continued, "We live with the mercy of God Almighty. We ask God to have mercy on us with this ordeal. This is an ordeal, not a test."
The elderly Palestinian was not the only one who had suhoor and broke his fast with water only, as journalist Anas Al-Sharif wrote, saying, “An acceptable fast and a delicious breakfast... Thank God for the blessing of water for suhoor and breakfast.”
An acceptable fast and a delicious breakfast.
Praise be to God for the blessing of water for suhoor and breakfast
- Anas Al-Sharif Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) March 11, 2024
He added in another post on the “X” platform - formerly “Twitter” - “At suhoor time, you try to search for food and you know that there is none, but you try to console yourself.”
At suhoor time, you try to look for food and you know that there is none, but you try to console yourself
How many citizens will fast without #Suhoor #Ramadan_in_North_Gaza
- Anas Al-Sharif Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) March 11, 2024
On the eve of Ramadan, the Palestinian journalist documented a scene of great disappointment experienced by citizens after they gathered in the thousands in the far north of Gaza to obtain air aid that landed near the Zikim settlement.
After the citizens struggled to reach the place and exposed themselves to danger, they were surprised that most of this aid consisted of water bottles and empty bags.
Great disappointment among citizens after they gathered in the thousands in the northernmost area of Gaza to obtain aid by air that fell near the Zikim settlement.
After the citizens struggled to reach the place and exposed themselves to danger, they were shocked that most of… pic.twitter.com/HOpmEg6Ipr
- Anas Al-Sharif Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) March 10, 2024
He commented in another post, saying, “In northern Gaza we are facing very difficult conditions due to the siege and famine, and with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, people are raising many questions about how we fast as we enter the sixth month of hunger and deprivation.”
He wondered, "What will the suhoor and iftar be like in light of the scarcity of foodstuffs and their absence from the markets?! How will we perform Tarawih prayers without mosques and without the call to prayer?! How will we be able to celebrate the holy month and visit relatives after the demolition of their homes and their displacement?!"
Gaza and #Ramadan This year
in northern Gaza we are facing very difficult conditions due to the siege and famine. With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, people are raising many questions about how we fast as we enter the sixth month of hunger and deprivation.
What will Suhoor and Iftar be like in light of the scarcity of foodstuffs and their absence from the markets?!
how…
- Anas Al-Sharif Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) March 10, 2024
Also on the eve of the first day of Ramadan, an activist documented the scene of a barefoot child searching for food to satisfy her hunger and standing in front of a bakery seller, where a passer-by paid the seller money so that the child could get just one of these baked goods.
We welcome the month of Ramadan this year to share with our people in Gaza a small amount of suffering from hunger and thirst,
but we find breakfast and suhoor, and they may not find
even a piece of bread or a drink of water.
May God feed them and give them water pic.twitter.com/eUXO08ZJbT
- Rashid_Almethen (@rashidalmethen) March 10, 2024
In a cruel and painful scene, a video clip, Tuesday morning, showed children collecting pasta grains scattered on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip.
The video documented the moment a Palestinian child ran to the place where the remnants of aid were scattered after they fell from the planes, and collected them in his school bag, despite their contamination and mixing with sand, to carry them to his family, hoping to help them eat breakfast on the second day of Ramadan.
Two women from Gaza described the difficulty of preparing breakfast and suhoor meals during Ramadan, in light of the scarcity of food supplies provided to the displaced in shelter schools.
Palestinian journalist Hassan Islih posted a video clip of a woman carrying her infant, saying, “I had some thyme in the morning and drank tea without sugar because sugar is expensive.”
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A post shared by Hassan Aslih (@hassan_eslaih)
Regarding breakfast on the second day of Ramadan, the woman said, “I went to the aid distribution place next to my place of residence and took a grain of lentils that I will cook for my husband and children. I have had crusty bread from the day before yesterday that I will mix with the lentils and prepare lentil fattah for them for breakfast.”
Another woman said, "We are enchanted by beans without tahini and without lemon because they are not available, and we drink tea without sugar. As for breakfast, we will have lentils without salt, as they are expensive and we cannot find them."
In another scene, Palestinians were eager to eat iftar on the first day of Ramadan on top of the rubble of their destroyed homes in Gaza.
On Sunday, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza said that more than two thousand health personnel in the northern Gaza Strip will begin the month of Ramadan without suhoor or iftar meals, stressing that the medical personnel in northern Gaza have lost their bodies as a result of the lack of meals.
The Gaza City municipality warned that the hunger crisis is accelerating and claiming the lives of many Palestinians, noting that the share of water per person has decreased to two liters per day instead of 90 liters before the Israeli war on the Strip, which exacerbates the suffering with the advent of the month of Ramadan.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which, as of Tuesday, has resulted in the death of 31,184 Palestinians and 72,889 wounded, most of them children and women.
The aggression also caused massive destruction of infrastructure, leaving an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to Palestinian and international reports.
Source: Al Jazeera + social networking sites