On Monday, the first day of Ramadan, dozens of Gazans prayed in the midst of the rubble of a mosque that had just been struck by an Israeli airstrike.
The Palestinian men, their hands folded in rows before a prayer leader, were about to embark on a month of fasting unlike any they had ever known.
Many of those who chose not to attend prayers were out in the streets, searching for any food that would sustain their families, who were living in makeshift camps all throughout the war-torn region.
“I wish the planes would bomb me and I die,” said Zaki Hussein Abu Mansur, once the proud owner of a house he had built for his family in Khan Yunis — where Israeli forces are engaged in a sweeping ground operation against Hamas.
“It is better to die than live this life,” the 63-year-old told AFP.
“Sometimes we see that the things that we need are in the market but we can’t buy them.”
In Gaza, deprivation during Ramadan is commonplace. There is a dearth of food in Rafah’s markets, and not many shops provide qatayef, a dessert that is typically marketed during Ramadan.
Though some stalls have Ramadan lanterns on display, the colorful lights and decorations that often grace the streets during the fasting month are conspicuously absent.
“We can’t even afford vegetables, let alone fruit,” said Maisa al-Balbissi, a 39-year-old displaced from northern Gaza and now sheltering in Rafah.
“Everything is too expensive. My children and I are unable to buy anything. Prices of even the simplest items have skyrocketed,” the mother-of-two told AFP by her tent.
