GAZA, (PIC)
Eid al-Adha has arrived for the third consecutive year for the children of the Gaza Strip amid ongoing Israeli aggression, and an almost complete absence of manifestations of joy and rituals that were associated with this occasion in previous years, with the continuation of displacement, destruction of public facilities, and the worsening of humanitarian and living conditions in various parts of the Strip.
In addition to the absence of sacrificial animals and slaughter scenes, the usual manifestations of Eid from playgrounds, parks, new clothes, and toys also disappeared, to be replaced by scenes of rubble, tents, and water queues, at a time when children face harsh living conditions that reflected directly on the details of their daily lives.
Children without toys or new clothes
In Al-Joud camp in the center of Gaza City, seven-year-old child Rakan Al-Shawa sat in front of his family’s tent, in a scene that summarizes the reality of thousands of children during the days of Eid.
The child said, “My mother did not buy me Eid clothes, because we do not have money, and my father was martyred months ago.”
He added that he wished to get a toy, a ball, or go to one of the playgrounds as he used to do in previous Eids, before those rituals stopped due to the war.
For her part, his mother Huwaida Ibrahim, who is 34 years old, said that the economic conditions experienced by the family after the martyrdom of her husband prevented providing her children’s basic needs, including Eid supplies.
She added, “I try as much as possible to provide food for the children, but buying clothes or toys is no longer possible under the current circumstances.”
Destroyed parks and simple alternatives for joy
In Gaza City, nine-year-old child Hala Surour said that before the aggression she used to visit the Unknown Soldier park during the days of Eid with her family, but the place is no longer as it was after being subjected to bulldozing and destruction.
She added that she made a rag doll herself after her family was unable to buy a new toy for her.
In turn, her father Mohammad, who is 55 years old, said that many families are no longer able to buy new clothes or give “Eidiya” (cash gift) to children, as a result of the difficult economic conditions, high prices, and declining purchasing power.
He added, “We try to bring joy to the hearts of children with what is available, but the current reality has made that very difficult.”
Eid under the pressure of daily needs
In one of the displacement centers, 13-year-old child Manal Ahmad stood in a queue to fill drinking water.
She said, “On Eid we used to go out, visit relatives, and play, but now we spend our day filling water and collecting firewood.”
She added that many children have become busy daily with securing the basic needs of their families, in light of the continuing water crisis and lack of basic services.
Ongoing humanitarian reality
Data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicates the martyrdom of more than 21,500 children in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the genocide, alongside tens of thousands of wounded and missing.
The Strip also faces a worsening crisis in cash liquidity, a shortage of basic commodities, and a continuation of internal displacement, which reflected on the commercial movement associated with the Eid season, and limited the ability of families to provide needs related to the occasion.
Parents agree that the priority for many families is to secure water, food, and shelter, at the expense of details that children used to wait for in such days.