Gazans Welcome Eid With Concern Amid Conflict, Blockade And COVID-19 Pandemic

Illustration of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. (Wikimedia Commons/Israel Police)

JAKARTA - This year's Eid al-Adha 1442 Hijriyah will be different for a number of residents of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, after 11 days of fighting between Gaza militants and Israeli soldiers last May.

Lasting for four days, marked by the slaughter of sacrificial animals on Tuesday, Eid this time will bring memories with loved ones who died in the armed clashes.

Mahmoud Issa, a 73-year-old retired teacher, is no exception, buying new clothes for his grandchildren and taking them to a farm to select sacrificial animals for slaughter.

At the same time, he mourned the death of his daughter Manar and granddaughter Lina, who was said to have been killed by an Israeli missile that destroyed their home in the Bureij refugee camp on May 13. Meanwhile, Manar's husband and three other children survived.

"As adults, we are still haunted by pain, but we have to get the children out of this atmosphere and make them live the Eid atmosphere, so that they forget the pain of losing their mother and older sister," said Issa while sitting next to a large mural of Manar, citing Reuters Sunday, July 18.

The Hamas government in Gaza says 2,200 homes were destroyed and 37,000 damaged by Israeli bombardment during 11 days of cross-border fighting in May. More than 250 Palestinians were killed in hundreds of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, after Hamas fired rockets at Israel in reaction to rights violations against Palestinians in Jerusalem.

On the Israeli side, thirteen civilians are said to have been killed during the rocket attacks that disrupted life, sending people running for cover from Hamas rocket attacks.

At Gaza's cattle market, ranchers and farmers reported poor sales ahead of the holiday. At one market in the town of Khan Younis, some customers load animals onto donkey carts to take home.

"This year, animal purchases have decreased due to the blockade, war, and the coronavirus," said trader Saleem Abu Atwa, referring in part to the tight border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns over the move.

"We hope the calm continues. This is for everyone's sake," Abu Atwa hoped.

Separately, a street stall in Gaza's busy Rimal neighborhood, Mohammad Al-Qassas laments the destruction of his shoe shop in the fighting as he sells items he salvaged from the rubble.

The 23-year-old fears that an Egypt-brokered truce that ended the most serious hostilities between Gaza and Israel militants in years may not last long.

"Another war will be a disaster," Al-Qassas said.