GAZA, (PIC)
Just a few years ago, the streets of the Gaza Strip received the Hajj season and Eid al-Adha with exceptional movement that breathed life into the markets and popular neighborhoods, the voices of sellers rising in the livestock markets, and children spending time around the decorated sheep, and families busy bidding farewell to pilgrims and preparing to receive them or buying sacrifices, in a scene that gave Gazans a rare opportunity for joy amidst the long years of siege.
Today, for the third consecutive year, all of this is absent from the Strip exhausted by war, displacement, and loss, after the Hajj and sacrifice season turned into an occasion burdened with sadness and deprivation, in light of the inability of thousands of families to perform the ritual of Hajj or even perform the ritual of sacrifice that has long been linked to the meanings of solidarity, joy, and worship.
Painful memories of joy
Abu Alaa, the father of two martyrs and the head of a family currently living in displacement tents, sits at the door of his tent contemplating old photos he took years ago of his family around the Eid sacrifice, saying with heartbreak, “We were waiting for the Eid al-Adha season with passion, the children rejoice in the sacrifice days before its slaughter, and the whole family gathers, but today there is no house, no sacrifice, and not even the ability to buy a kilo of meat.”
He told the PIC correspondent, “The Eid takbirs used to rise in every place and alley, but today they are no longer as they were, for people’s hearts are burdened with fear, hunger, and loss.”
Umm Muhammad, a displaced woman who lost her home in Gaza City, said that what pains her most is her inability to provide any manifestation of Eid for her children.
She added, in a special talk with the PIC correspondent, that her young son constantly asks her about why they are not buying a sacrifice like previous years, stressing that she cannot buy the sacrifice even if livestock and calves were available, and they are not available these days.
Despite the difficult economic conditions and the siege, Gazans did not easily abandon the ritual of sacrifice before the war, as families considered it an essential part of the Eid rituals, and many families sought to save money throughout the year to buy sacrifices.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza, the number of sacrifices slaughtered in the Strip during the Eid al-Adha season in 2023 reached about 17,000 head of calves and 24,000 head of sheep, while the number of sacrificing families reached approximately 130,000 families, which is approximately 28% of the Strip’s population.
It is customary for charitable organizations and local and international institutions to implement extensive projects to distribute sacrifice meat to poor families, as thousands of families were waiting for the Eid season to obtain meat portions in light of the difficult economic conditions.
In the livestock markets, the movement used to start early weeks before Eid, as the markets witnessed crowding with buyers, despite the high prices and successive economic crises, and Gaza used to consume tens of thousands of heads of sheep and calves annually during the sacrifice season, amidst wide participation from residents in reviving the ritual.
The war changed everything
With the destruction of vast areas of the Strip, and the death of large numbers of livestock due to bombing and the lack of fodder and veterinary care, in addition to the sharp economic collapse, sacrifices have become a far-fetched dream for most residents.
The crisis became more complicated with Israel’s continued prevention of the entry of live livestock and sacrifices into the Gaza Strip through the crossings, which led to the almost total absence of sheep and calves inside the Strip and an unprecedented rise in their prices.
Traders and livestock breeders confirm that the restrictions imposed on the entry of live animals and fodder exacerbated the humanitarian crisis as Eid al-Adha approaches, and deprived the entire Gaza Strip of performing the ritual even if they had the financial ability.
Abu Ali, one of the livestock breeders in the center of the Strip, said that before the war the markets were buzzing with buyers and commercial movement, but today the barns are completely empty.
He explained that Israel prevented the entry of livestock for long periods, and many breeders lost their animals due to bombing and hunger.
Social specialists believe that depriving the residents of Gaza of religious and social rituals and occasions for the third year doubles the psychological effects of the war, especially among children, many of whom grew up amidst scenes of displacement, bombing, and deprivation.
While millions of Muslims around the world receive the Hajj season and Eid al-Adha with an atmosphere of joy and tranquility, Gazans stand far from the scene, carrying a double heartbreak; heartbreak for rituals that are absent, and a greater heartbreak for a life that was, despite poverty and siege, capable of creating joy even for a few days.
