Khaled al-Qershali
Mondoweiss / May 26, 2026
Ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, many in Gaza continue to face displacement, destruction, and uncertainty, and are struggling to secure necessities while trying to preserve fragments of celebration for their families.
As Eid al-Adha approaches on May 27 this year, many families in Gaza continue to live between displacement, destruction, and uncertainty, struggling to secure basic necessities while trying to preserve fragments of celebration.
Despite a ceasefire in place since October, which has not stopped Israel from killing hundreds of Palestinians and seizing ever more land in Gaza, many families remain displaced, separated from one another, and unable to restore the traditions that once gave Eid its meaning.
But amid the hardships, many still strive to preserve small moments of joy for their children. Mondoweiss spoke with several Palestinians who recounted how they are preparing for their third Eid al-Adha in times of genocide.
‘The genocide still hasn’t ended’
Hazem Shalla (44) is a father of five from the Gaza City neighbourhood of Shuja’iyya. For the past two years, he and his family have been displaced to southern Gaza. “Although I lost my home, I wish I could go back to my destroyed neighbourhood,” he expressed.
For Hazem, Eid al-Adha has lacked the joy and traditions that once defined the holiday since October 2023, including sacrificing livestock for festive meals, wearing new clothes, and giving toys and money (eidya) to children.
Instead, he recalls how he faced the dangers of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation during last year’s Eid for a simple bag of flour.
“Last year, one kilogram of flour cost around $60 due to the famine and the cash crisis in the Strip,” Hazem recalled. “Instead of sacrificing like every year before the genocide, I risked my life going to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point in Netzarim to bring flour for my family.”
Israel’s deliberate policy of starvation has had a devastating effect on people in Gaza, as Hazem told Mondoweiss about the profound impact food shortages have had on his family’s daily life.
“Last Eid, my wife was pregnant with my son Ahmed and suffering from malnutrition due to the lack of proper food,” Hazem added. “I could neither buy new clothes for my children nor give them eidya back then. I had to save everything I could to buy food.”
“Meat and other sources of protein were non-existent across the Strip” in 2025, Hazem said. “When my young daughter, Mesk, asked me to buy her a doll last Eid, I told her I would. But instead of buying the doll, I used the money to buy a kilogram of flour.”
For Hazem, the spirit of Eid is still missing this year. “A ceasefire was announced last October, but my displacement did not end,” Hazem said. “The Israeli occupation allowed food and aid to enter Gaza, but the amount is still insufficient, so prices remain high.”
Hazem particularly misses being able to come together with loved ones for the holiday, with his relatives scattered across the Gaza Strip.
“Every Eid before the genocide, I used to gather with my extended family, but now there is no place left for us to gather,” Hazem continued. “My parents are displaced in Gaza City, and my older brother is displaced in a refugee camp in the area of Al-Zawayda [near Deir al-Balah].”
“I won’t be able to give eidya to my children due to the cash crisis and high commission rates,” Hazem added. “Although the price of clothing remains high, I intend to buy new clothes for my children as they need new ones.”
“The circumstances have improved in Gaza, but the genocide still hasn’t ended.”
Lost rituals and forced separations
Hassan Ibrahim Al-Smiri (31) was working as a nurse in Libya when he returned to Gaza in 2023 to visit his family and get married, before the war broke out.
As the newlyweds navigated the perils of the genocide, they became parents to two daughters. “Whenever I look at my daughters, I feel sad for them,” Hassan said. “My plan for us was to live in Libya, where I had a stable job and a house, but the Israeli occupation destroyed all of that.”
During Eid al-Adha in June 2024, Hassan was living in his family’s home in the Al-Qarara area in eastern Khan Younis. “Many Eid rituals were lost, but there was a small sense of Eid as I was able to gather with my family,” Hassan recalled. “I remember meat prices were unimaginably high, so we didn’t have meat that Eid, but other types of food were available.”
In July 2024, after Israeli forces invaded Rafah and started ground operations in Khan Younis, Hassan’s neighbourhood was targeted, forcing him and his family to evacuate to Deir al-Balah.
“Deir al-Balah was overcrowded with people from across the Gaza Strip. I couldn’t find a suitable place for my family, so I built a tent in the backyard of a school,” Hassan said. “Living in a tent was like trying to build a sense of home from pieces of fear and cloth.”
Last Eid, Hassan’s situation was worse. “I had been displaced for more than a year, and could barely afford bread for my family, as famine had been spreading across Gaza since March,” Hassan said. “There was no Eid at all last year, as basic life necessities like flour were non-existent.”
“Before the genocide, my father used to buy a sheep a few days before Eid for sacrifice,” Hassan remembered. “I used to help him distribute the meat for people in need.”
“But last Eid, I couldn’t buy even a kilogram of meat for my young daughters as it cost around $180,” he added. “I couldn’t buy new clothes or toys for my young daughters as they were non-existent in the whole Strip. I couldn’t give them eidya due to the lack of cash and the unimaginable commission rates exceeding 50 percent.”
In March 2026, Hassan managed to return to Libya as he holds a Libyan citizenship, but his wife and daughters remain trapped in Gaza. “I have been trying to evacuate them, but I can’t because of the closure of the borders despite the current ceasefire,” Hassan said.
Like Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Hassan will be far from his family for Eid al-Adha this year. “I am still afraid that something might happen to them as I believe the genocide has not ended yet,” Hassan explained. “I will try to send them money, but most of it will disappear because of the commission fees, while food and clothes prices are still high in Gaza.”
‘Life no longer feels the same’
Eyad Ballol, a 55-year-old father of three sons, lost his home and neighbourhood near the Netzarim corridor, a strip of land cutting Gaza into two that the Israeli army has cleared of inhabitants and uses as a military zone to station and move its troops.
“Although my neighbourhood is not currently under Israeli military control, I am afraid of returning there as the occupation might break the ceasefire and invade the area whenever it wants,” Eyad expressed.
Eyad’s wife and sons went to their grandparents’ home in Nuseirat. “The house was overcrowded with displaced families, so I evacuated to Deir al-Balah and lived in a tent there,” Eyad said.
Eyad has remained alone in Deir al-Balah ever since, only able to visit his family four times since they were separated. While Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah are less than four miles away from one another, the widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip and unchecked Israeli violence have made even the smallest journey nearly impossible.
“In the last two years, I haven’t been able to visit my family because transportation has been difficult to obtain, the whole infrastructure system was destroyed, and the Israeli occupation was targeting vehicles across the Strip,” Eyad said.
Instead of sacrificing an animal and distributing meat, last Eid al-Adha, Eyad went three days without a loaf of bread. “Last year, instead of Eid celebrations and rituals, there was displacement, famine, death,” Eyad added. “The Israeli occupation was threatening new ground invasions and preventing anything from entering the Strip, even baby formula.”
For Eyad, 2026 has brought slight changes, but he is still displaced and away from his family. “When I heard the news about this ceasefire, I felt relieved, but eight months later, I am still suffering,” Eyad added. “Since the ceasefire began, I have not had any cash, so I won’t be able to give eidya to my wife and children this Eid.”
“Despite the danger, I plan to visit my family in Nuseirat,” Eyad said. “Food has entered Gaza again, and I hope to buy at least a kilogram of meat so we can sit together as a family.”
Still, many Eid traditions remain out of reach. “I will not buy new clothes for my sons because prices are still high,” Eyad added.
“Even when people survive, life itself no longer feels the same.”
Khaled al-Qershali is an English Language graduate working as a writer and journalist from Gaza
