As millions of Muslims around the world prepare to mark Eid al-Adha with prayers, family gatherings, and sacrificial meals, the besieged coastal enclave braces for yet another day of hunger, displacement, and mourning.
For the second year in a row, Gaza's residents said Eid has lost all meaning. Amid the ruins of war and deepening starvation, families who once celebrated with lamb feasts and joyful reunions are now scavenging for bread and shelter.
Israel's genocidal war has transformed what was once a joyful holiday into a day of unbearable grief.
Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children and wounded more than 125,000 others, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian health ministry.
More than 1.9 million Palestinians [almost 85 percent of Gaza's population] are now internally displaced.
The four-day Eid al-Adha, which will start on Friday, offers no reprieve from what many here describe as a "war of extermination."
Silent camps, absent joy
"I used to buy my children new clothes and toys for Eid. It was the happiest time of the year. Now, their only wish is a piece of bread. Not sweets, not toys—just something to eat," Hussam Abu Amer, a 37-year-old father of four, told The New Arab while sitting on the scorched tiles of what used to be his living room in Gaza City.
Abu Amer fled from the Zeitoun neighbourhood after an Israeli airstrike levelled his home, killing several relatives and burying decades of family memories under concrete. He now lives in a makeshift tent near a ruined school, surrounded by hundreds of other displaced families.
"Last year, I promised them that the war would be over by next Eid, and we'd return to how things used to be. I lied to them without knowing. This year, I have nothing to promise. Nothing at all," he described.
"I used to be a man who provided, who protected. Now, I'm just someone who tells bedtime stories to distract his kids from the sound of bombs and the feeling of hunger," he added.
Like most of the Palestinians in Gaza, Abu Amer has buried too many relatives. "I don't even have the strength to cry any more. Eid is no longer a celebration. It's a reminder of everything we've lost," he said.
In the heart of Gaza City, the streets around Sheikh Radwan Market have turned into makeshift displacement camps. Garbage rots in the summer heat, and children cry for food. There are no decorations, no sweets, no sheep.
"I don't let my kids touch my phone. I don't want them to see images of Eid celebrations abroad. They'll ask questions I can't answer," Majed Samaha, a Palestinian man in Gaza, told TNA.
Once an electrician, the father now relies on sparse charity meals known as Takaya. "The eye sees, but the hand is short," he said, echoing a local proverb. "We used to survive on little. Today, we don't even have the little."
Seventy-year-old Tawfiq Zafir limps through the rubble a few metres away. Before the war, he owned a popular shoe shop on Al-Nasr Street, but now it's lies in ruins.
"This is our second Eid under fire. I've lost my shop, home, and ability to dream," the elderly man lamented to TNA.
Zafir, a grandfather of 25, choked up as he recalled a moment from the morning. "One of my grandchildren asked for a toy," he said. "All I could do was hug him and cry. There is no Eid in Gaza—only hunger and loss."
In a region where meat traditionally symbolises abundance and celebration, Gaza faces a profound scarcity. Since Israel's military intensified its blockade in March, not a single shipment of sacrificial animals entered the Strip, and Israeli airstrikes and restrictions decimated local livestock populations.
"We haven't seen meat in months," said Abu al-Abd al-Attar, a butcher from northern Gaza now displaced in the south. "I slaughtered my last sheep at the start of Ramadan, and that was it. Nothing has been available since. Even chicken is scarce and sold at prices that are beyond reach."
Al-Attar told TNA that this Eid al-Adha, once marked by sacrifice and generosity, has become one of deprivation and despair. "People are sacrificing their dignity and dreams, not sheep," he said.
Umm Mahmoud, a mother of four in Khan Younis, said her family has been eating lentils for weeks, without even oil. "We used to count the days to Eid," she said. "Now we pray for bread and clean water."
Humanitarian collapse, elusive truce
The collapse of humanitarian aid delivery compounds the situation. UNRWA distribution centres have been bombed, and food warehouses destroyed. The World Food Programme and other international agencies report facing near-impossible conditions due to the lack of security and safe access.
"There's no electricity, no water, no sanitation," described Husseni Muhanna, an official at Gaza Municipality. "People aren't asking for joy this Eid. They are asking for survival."
Local NGOs say families often wait hours in line just to receive a few cans of food or a small bottle of water. The growing malnutrition crisis is particularly severe among children, many of whom suffer from infections, dehydration, and untreated wounds.
Despite the devastation, some families still hope Eid will bring a political breakthrough, perhaps even a ceasefire.
"What we want is not meat or clothes," said Salma al-Sheikh, a woman in Gaza. "We want the bombing to stop. We want to go home. They've stopped asking for toys. They don't even dream. They just want silence from the skies."
"The real Eid will come when we return to our homes, when we can eat without lining up for hours. When children can laugh without flinching at the sound of a drone," she added.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel have reached another impasse. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States continue shuttle diplomacy, but negotiations remain deadlocked over key demands.
An informed Palestinian source told TNA that Hamas insists on an immediate, permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and guarantees against renewed aggression in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.
Israel, meanwhile, demands the dismantling of Hamas's military infrastructure and insists on maintaining control over Gaza's future security.
Analysts believe the fundamental disagreement over post-war governance and reconstruction has stalled all progress. In the meantime, civilians bear the cost.