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I desperately waited for Ramadan in the hope that this sacred month would be different from its predecessors; however, the violence and brutality of the situation have not ceased or lessened with the arrival of Ramadan.
For the 2.2 million Muslims in Gaza, Ramadan has historically been a time of joyous social gatherings, spiritual reflection, faith renewal, and cherished family reunions.
However, over the past decade, recurring Israeli wars on the strip have cast a dark shadow over this once-vibrant tradition. The ongoing genocidal assault, which has claimed more than 32,000 Palestinian lives and has laid waste to Gaza, made this a most devastating month.
Even when I encounter passersby on the street, I am unable to politely wish them, "Ramadan Kareem."
The once-colorful lights and lanterns that used to adorn the roads have been replaced by the harsh flashes of bombs and utter destruction.
Such greetings feel inappropriate and almost shameful, as all the jubilant celebrations of Ramadan have been replaced by quiet mourning—punctuated only by the echoes of war, grief, and hardship.
Last year, I was delighted to secure a job with a decent salary for the first time in my career. Filled with a sense of abundance, I surprised each of my 22 nieces and nephews with a colourful lantern, or "fanoos," to usher in the holy month.
Their happiness was infectious, and I vowed to make this gift a yearly ritual. Little did I know that circumstances beyond my control would brutally crush this promise of joy.
Today, the reality of life in Gaza has drastically changed. Many of my nieces and nephews find themselves living in tents, facing hunger, and displaced by the ravages of war. Others have left Gaza entirely, seeking refuge elsewhere.
Under "normal" conditions—as normal as they could be during a blockade—the weeks leading up to Ramadan are filled with anticipation and preparation.
The streets of Gaza would come alive as households and businesses adorned their balconies and storefronts with lanterns to welcome the holy month. I remember my sisters-in-law helping me decorate the balcony of our home with these small lanterns.
This cherished tradition, led by young mothers and enthusiastic youth, created a vibrant atmosphere throughout the neighbourhoods. The sight of Gaza's illuminated streets, powered by generators, solar panels, or even sporadic electricity, would fill my heart with joy.
But this year, Ramadan is a sad month.
While most people fasting around the world may experience headaches and fatigue from the lack of food and caffeine, this year we did not feel the exhaustion from that first day of Ramadan since we have already been enduring food deprivation and a lack of basic necessities for months.
The vibrant nighttime streets of Gaza have fallen into sombre silence. Where there was once life, there is now rubble. The joyous sounds of children playing have been replaced by the heart-wrenching cries of those trapped beneath it.
On the first day of Ramadan, I ventured through the streets in search of some semblance of the past. The scant hope I had instead became a painful realization of just how much we have lost.
Only a few stalls remained in what used to be lively outdoor markets—offering meager quantities of lemons, eggplants, tomatoes, and homemade laundry soap. The faces I encountered were filled with grief and despair. At that moment, I couldn't help but weep for the loss of those cherished memories.
The once-colorful lights and lanterns that used to adorn the roads have been replaced by the harsh flashes of bombs and utter destruction.
Mosques, once crowded with worshippers, either stand empty or lie in ruins. Imams now appeal to individuals to worship within the confines of their own homes or makeshift tents.
And yet the devastation extends beyond the visual landscape.
The atmosphere of Ramadan nights, filled with Tarawih prayers in mosques and Quranic recitation, has been replaced by the sounds of explosions from Israeli bombs.
The aromas that permeated Gaza's streets and shops are now distant memories. The bustling markets, like al-Zawya, Gaza's oldest market, were stocked with buckets of sour pickles and olives, cartons of various dates, pyramids of spices, dried fruits, jams, and other colourful food items.
Everything has been reduced to ruins.
When I was young, I used to navigate the narrow and cramped alleys of the Deir al-Balah refugee camp on my walk home from school.
The air was filled with the sounds of women cooking, accompanied by the clattering of spoons and cooking utensils. Each house emitted a distinct aroma unique to the meals being prepared inside.
My dear friend, Hamda, who recently was tragically killed in an air strike on her home along with her husband, could identify dishes based on the fragrance that each home was emitting during the preparations, as we walked together toward our homes. I cherished the hour leading up to sunset and the Maghrib prayer.
The spirit of Ramadan in Gaza has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Sprawling banquets and gatherings have given way to canned meals.
When the first day of Ramadan would come, many of us never had to think of what to cook for iftar, as the answer was evident: molokhia. This thick and flavorful stew, made from the leaves of the jute mallow plant, had always served as the traditional "opener" for Ramadan meals in Gaza. Like other Palestinian mothers and grandmothers, my mother believed that the vibrant green colour of molokhia instilled optimism and brought good fortune during the month.
This year is different. We no longer have the luxury of choice when it comes to our meals. Instead, we rely on a few cans of food received in aid parcels.
While most people fasting around the world may experience headaches and fatigue from the lack of food and caffeine, this year we did not feel the exhaustion from that first day of Ramadan since we have already been enduring food deprivation and a lack of basic necessities for months.
Today, people in Gaza fast through iftar not out of choice, but because they lack food and water.
My brother, who works at a hospital, remarked: "We have been fasting for five months, so I do not know if we will get a headache on the first day." We did not.
Our first suhour was accompanied by Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling in Deir al-Balah. My mother sighed: "Even in Ramadan."
We used to treat ourselves to qatayef, a beloved dessert popular in Ramadan that is no longer available. One kilogram of sugar, which used to cost only 8 NIS ($2), is now a staggering 85 NIS ($23).
The spirit of Ramadan in Gaza has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Sprawling banquets and gatherings have given way to canned meals.
Families no longer gather in celebration but in mourning.
The destruction of homes, markets, schools, the loss of loved ones, and the disruption of daily life have left us grappling with unimaginable pain and loss.
For more than five months, Gaza has endured massacres, disease, starvation, displacement, expulsion, and thirst. I desperately waited for Ramadan in the hope that this sacred month would be different from its predecessors. However, the violence and brutality of the situation have not ceased or lessened with the arrival of Ramadan.
We used to recite a prayer in which we would ask God for Ramadan to arrive without losing any of our loved ones.
However, this Ramadan, we have lost many, many friends, family members, and relatives. We lost homes. We lost our lives. We lost memories. We have lost everything.
This month, we are fasting from everything, whether it is food, talking, smiling, or spiritual experiences. Only grief and despair are in abundance.
"The clock is ticking," said Volker Türk. "Everyone, especially those with influence, must insist that Israel acts to facilitate the unimpeded entry and distribution of needed humanitarian assistance."
A dire new report on mass hunger in the Gaza Strip prompted the United Nations high commissioner for human rights to declare Tuesday that Israel's persistent obstruction of humanitarian aid "may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime."
"Israel, as the occupying power, has the obligation to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population commensurate with their needs and to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations to deliver that assistance," Volker Türk said in a statement after the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification (IPC) warned that half of Gaza's population is currently experiencing catastrophic hunger and at growing risk of starving to death.
Noting that Israel's 16-year blockade of Gaza "has already had a severe impact on human rights for the civilian population," Türk said Monday that Israel is required under international law to ensure the population of Gaza can access food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance in a "safe and dignified manner."
"The clock is ticking," said Türk. "Everyone, especially those with influence, must insist that Israel acts to facilitate the unimpeded entry and distribution of needed humanitarian assistance and commercial goods to end starvation and avert all risk of famine. There needs to be full restoration of essential services, including the supply of food, water, electricity, and fuel. And there needs to be an immediate cease-fire, as well as the unconditional release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza."
Türk is not the first U.N. official to condemn Israel's deliberate withholding of food aid from Palestinians in Gaza. Last month, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri said that "there is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses, and orchards in Gaza—other than to deny people access to food."
"Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime," said Fakhri.
"The U.S. co-owns this outcome and now must apply real leverage ASAP to change course."
In violation of the International Court of Justice's January order, the Israeli military has systematically restricted ground-based aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and violently attacked crowds seeking out the limited assistance that has been allowed to enter the enclave, fueling the rapid and deadly spread of malnutrition.
The IPC's new report put numbers to what aid groups on the ground in Gaza have been reporting in recent weeks as Israel's bombing and blockade continue with no end in sight. According to the IPC, Gaza's entire population is facing acute food insecurity and "famine is imminent."
Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International and a former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official,
wrote on social media Monday that the IPC's report offers "the grimmest analysis" he has "ever seen."
"The famine is now starting," Konyndyk wrote. "Only question at this point is how much more momentum it will be allowed to develop. Every day without a cease-fire at this point will extend the famine further on the back end, costing more lives."
U.S. President Joe Biden "must begin pulling out all the stops to get this contained," Konyndyk added. "The Netanyahu government created this situation as the U.S. continued supplying them with arms and diplomatic cover. The U.S. co-owns this outcome and now must apply real leverage ASAP to change course."
"There is an indisputable, man-made, intentional deprivation of aid that continues to suck the life out of any and all humanitarian operations, including our own," said one campaigner.
The Israeli government is intentionally restricting the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by subjecting shipments to a prolonged and dysfunctional inspection process, arbitrarily rejecting items, attacking aid convoys, and limiting the number of crossings through which deliveries can pass, Oxfam International said in a report published late Sunday.
The report, titled Inflicting Unprecedented Suffering and Destruction, argues that Israel's continued obstruction of humanitarian aid is a direct violation of both international humanitarian law (IHL) and a January order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled the Israeli government is "plausibly" committing genocide in Gaza and must ensure that assistance reaches desperate Gazans.
Oxfam said Sunday that "humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip has effectively worsened" since the ICJ handed down its interim order nearly two months ago, and conditions on the ground in the Palestinian territory have deteriorated rapidly. New data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) shows that Gaza's "entire population" is facing "high levels of acute food insecurity" and 1.1 million people are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger—a figure that one expert called "unprecedented."
"The ICJ order should have shocked Israeli leaders to change course, but since then conditions in Gaza have actually worsened," said Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's Middle East and North Africa director. "The fact that other governments have not challenged Israel hard enough, but instead turned to less effective methods like airdrops and maritime corridors is a huge red flag, signaling that Israel continues to deny the full potential of better ways to deliver more aid."
"Israeli authorities are not only failing to facilitate the international aid effort but are actively hindering it," Abi Khalil added. "We believe that Israel is failing to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide."
In its new report, Oxfam outlines seven ways in which the Israeli government is impeding humanitarian aid shipments and exacerbating one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in modern history:
In February—the first full month after the ICJ's order—Israel allowed just 2,874 aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip, a 44% decline compared to the previous month, according to Oxfam.
The group said Israeli authorities "have rejected a warehouse full of international aid including oxygen, incubators, and Oxfam water and sanitation gear, all of which is now stockpiled at Al Arish just 40 kilometers away from the border of 2.3 million desperate Palestinians in Gaza."
Israel's military, which is armed by the U.S. and other major countries that are legally obligated to prevent genocide, has also blocked humanitarian staff from entering Gaza, adding "pressure and workload" to already overwhelmed aid efforts, Oxfam said.
Celine Maayeh, advocacy and research officer at Juzoor for Health and Social Development—an Oxfam partner organization—said Sunday that "there's been an alarming increase in cases of malnutrition among children in the last month, and yet the only food the team is able to find to feed people living in 45 shelters is some vegetables."
"There is an indisputable, man-made, intentional deprivation of aid that continues to suck the life out of any and all humanitarian operations, including our own," said Maayeh.
"If a famine is declared, it will already be too late for too many people—children are famine's first victims and are already dying in Gaza because of malnutrition."
Oxfam's findings are consistent with those of other aid organizations and lawmakers who have visited the region in recent weeks.
In January, U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters that they witnessed "miles of backed-up trucks" stuck at border crossings as Gazans nearby struggled to survive, eating grass and drinking contaminated water.
The senators said they saw one warehouse full of items that Israeli authorities rejected in their inspection process, including oxygen cylinders and medical kits used for delivering babies.
Van Hollen said the warehouse was "a testament to the arbitrariness" of Israel's inspections.
Oxfam argued Sunday that the "only meaningful solution" to Gaza's intensifying humanitarian emergency is "an immediate, permanent, and unconditional cease-fire."
"Even the trickle of aid that a humanitarian response could provide under the current circumstances is being further obstructed by Israel's policies and practices, inflicting suffering on millions of Palestinians who are living under Israeli bombardment without access to food, clean water, and medical care," the group said.
Xavier Joubert, country director for Save the Children in the occupied Palestinian territory, echoed Oxfam's call for a cease-fire and warned in response to the new IPC figures that "we have a clear timeframe to stave off famine, and it demands urgency."
"If a famine is declared, it will already be too late for too many people—children are famine's first victims and are already dying in Gaza because of malnutrition," said Joubert. "Every minute counts for them. It should be on the collective conscience of Israeli authorities and the international community that every day without an immediate, definitive cease-fire and unfettered access for and to humanitarian aid is another catastrophic day of starvation and suffering, another step towards famine, and another death knell for Gaza's children."