Palestinians in the devastated Gaza Strip experienced moments of respite and joy this week, as dozens of couples got married in a charity-sponsored mass wedding on Friday.
As many as 20,000 people gathered in the central city of Deir al-Balah to watch 300 brides and grooms celebrate their union. They were selected from a draw of nearly 2,000 people.
The event, titled "The Garment of Joy 2" was organised by Emirati initiative "Gallant Knight 3," and was financed by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Works.
The UAE's official news agency WAM said the event was organised to support "the people of Gaza and Palestinian youth in light of the difficult circumstances they are experiencing".
Ahead of the wedding, the organisers said the event will offer "exceptional moments of joy".
Brides were dressed in traditional white Palestinian dresses, also known as thawbs , which were embroidered with Palestinian tatreez designs in various colours, namely, pink, blue, and yellow.
The grooms were dressed in suits and had Palestinian keffiyehs draped over their shoulders.
The ceremony took place outdoors, where crowds of all ages gathered to watch, alongside national figures, community leaders, dignitaries, and representatives of international organisations.
The mass wedding began with the procession of the couples, followed by the presentation of gifts to them, a recitation from the Quran, the official announcement of the marriage, and then the playing of the Palestinian and Emirati national anthems.
During the ceremony, onlookers waved Palestinian flags and danced and performed to dabke music, a traditional genre typically played at occasions such as weddings in the Levant.
On its Facebook page, the head of the UAE mission in the Gaza Strip said: "We stand today among the people of Gaza, not just to celebrate, but to witness an unyielding will, and a people who have decided to create joy despite everything."
This came as the Gaza Strip continues to witness near-daily deadly Israeli violations of the Israeli forces have particularly struck Gaza City and its surroundings, Deir al-Balah, the Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps, Rafah, and Khan Younis. On Friday alone , at least 13 Palestinians were killed in the enclave by Israeli military attacks, including women, children, and police officers.
Israeli forces have killed over 811 Palestinians despite the ceasefire, and continue to breach it in other ways, such as preventing the entry of sufficient aid trucks and deliberately demolishing homes.
This isn’t the first time such ceremonies have been organised. In December last year, two months after the ceasefire was announced, 54 couples tied the knot in a mass wedding also organised by the Emirati initiative. Regular weddings also resumed earlier this year in the ravaged enclave, albeit at a much smaller scale given the level of destruction Gaza has been subject to in two-and-a-half years of war.