Palestinians in Gaza will observe a third Eid al-Adha during ongoing war-like conditions marked by shortages of food and joy. Many people cannot leave Gaza due to Israeli restrictions on exit points, preventing pilgrims from departing for Hajj, which coincides with Eid al-Adha. Displaced families often cannot return to their homes or decorate them with Eid ornaments because movement is restricted. The siege and war have left few cattle or sheep alive, reducing the ability of families to perform animal sacrifice, a key festival custom. One woman, I'tidal Hamdan, prepares for Eid in a tent after her husband and multiple family members were killed in Israeli strikes, and her long-held hope to perform Hajj has been indefinitely postponed.
"In her tent, where she has spent much of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, 68-year-old I'tidal Hamdan prepares for her third consecutive Eid al-Adha away from home. Hamdan imagined this year would be different. She had hoped to fulfil a lifelong dream of performing Hajj, one of the five obligatory pillars of Islam, with her husband. But she has no chance of leaving Gaza, and her husband, 67, was killed in an Israeli strike last year."
"Israeli restrictions on exit points in Gaza mean that for a third year, there are no pilgrims departing for Hajj the pilgrimage coinciding with Eid al-Adha. Many displaced families are unable to return to their homes, if the buildings are still standing, and decorate them with Eid ornaments due to Israeli restrictions on movement. The Israeli siege and war on Gaza mean that few cattle or sheep survived, so the custom of animal sacrifice another important feature of the festival will be marked by few families this year."
"Before the war, Hamdan's name, alongside her husband's, appeared on the 2024 Hajj list, with strict allotments on the number of pilgrims allowed from each country due to high demand among the world's 2 billion Muslims. But the Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has indefinitely postponed this once-in-a-lifetime event for Hamdan. From the first days of the war, Hamdan, a mother of 11, and her family were forced to flee their home when Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza came under heavy Israeli bombardments."
"In addition to losing her husband, two of her sons and six of her grandchildren were also killed in separate Israeli strikes during the war. Despite everything, Hamdan clings to the hope that she will eventually end a long journey of grief and pain by perfor"
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