Eid prayers held outside demolished mosques in Gaza Strip
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had little to celebrate on Sunday as they began marking a normally festive Muslim holiday with rapidly dwindling food supplies and no end in sight to the Israel-Hamas war.
Many held prayers outside demolished mosques on the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
It is supposed to be a joyous occasion, when families gather for feasts and purchase new clothes for children — but most of Gaza's two million Palestinians are just trying to survive.
'It's the Eid of Sadness,' Adel al-Shaer said after attending outdoor prayers in the central town of Deir al-Balah.
'We lost our loved ones, our children, our lives, and our futures. We lost our students, our schools, and our institutions. We lost everything.'
Twenty members of his extended family have been killed in Israeli strikes, including four young nephews just a few days ago, he said as he broke into tears.
Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas and resumed the war earlier this month when the militant group refused to accept changes to the agreement reached in January.
Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians and Israel has allowed no food, fuel or humanitarian aid to enter for four weeks.
'There is killing, displacement, hunger and a siege,' said Saed al-Kourd, another worshipper.
'We go out to perform God's rituals in order to make the children happy, but as for the joy of Eid? There is no Eid.'
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
Hamas is still holding 59 captives — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other agreements.
Israel's offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israel's bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of Gaza and at their height displaced around 90% of the population.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: The people of Central Florida stand as the real tribute to Pulse
The story of what happened in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, began with gunshots, pain and terror. Forty-nine lives lost, dozens more injured in bodies and souls. The violence unleashed by a single gunman at Pulse nightclub left scars on this community that will never disappear. And at long last, local leaders have a plan for a fitting memorial to that tragedy. But that is not the end of this story, and that memorial will not be the most important way the Orlando area honors the legacy of Pulse. Even before the sun set on that fateful day, Central Floridians were building their own monuments, written in flowers, candles, prayers and tears. In public spaces across the region, people gathered, strangers coming together to reassure each other that this ugly act did not represent what this community stood for. And before the eyes of the world, that steadfast insistence made a difference. Orlando rebutted any suggestion that it provided a haven for hatred — by responding to ugly violence with love, kindness and solidarity. That response was anchored in common but often unspoken knowledge. Even before the Pulse massacre, Orlando was known as a place where members of the LGBTQ community could live in relative peace, even though homosexuality was a crime in Florida until 2003, and same-sex marriage was only legalized in 2015. It was also recognized as a haven for people from all over the world — not just tourists, but those who came to this country looking for a new start, even if they didn't speak perfect English. Clubs like Pulse provided safe spaces for people regardless of sexuality, national origin or skin color to come together in safety, to dance, to celebrate their common humanity instead of focusing on their differences. But many of Orlando's neighborhoods, businesses and houses of worship also worked to ensure that all were welcome. That made Central Florida unusual, particularly in the South. But what happened after Pulse made it extraordinary. Even as the shock of the massacre reverberated, there was little tolerance for intolerance. We're certain that there were people who attempted to preach the massacre as the wages of this area's acceptance of alternative sexualities, or who attempted to use the Islamic ideology of the killer (who also died that night) as a wedge for anti-Muslim hatred. But those voices were barely heard — even when they came from presidential campaigns. Instead, the Orlando LGBTQ community quickly forged an alliance with local Muslim leaders and Latino organizations, standing together against the kind of persecution that each community had far too much experience with. This is the legacy of Pulse, and one that we need today more than ever. Over recent years, Americans have seen their state and national leaders attempt to exploit ugly prejudice for political gain. In Florida, elected leaders tried to parlay angst about drag queen story hours and overly 'woke' teachers to distract attention from their attempts to weaken the strength of public schools and erase history lessons that underscore the toll that hatred extracts from today's society. More recently, unfounded antagonism against immigrants is being used to sow fear across many Orlando-area communities. The goal seems obvious: Every attempt to divide our communities makes us more vulnerable, more easily manipulated, more vulnerable to acts of political aggression that can easily flower into actual violence. That reality also hit hard locally in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol: The revelation that many of the ringleaders and their misguided followers hailed from Central Florida was a gut check, but that knowledge was tempered by the understanding that these groups, who called themselves 'Oath Keepers' and 'Proud Boys,' were in fact too ashamed of their own hateful ideology to embrace it publicly. Within a year, Orlando residents will see the new Pulse memorial taking shape at the corner of Kaley Street and Orange Avenue, and it will be beautiful: A stirring, color-shifting tribute to the 49 angels who died that morning, and the community that is still brought to tears by their memory. But residents don't need to wait for architects or builders to remember those victims, or to protect their legacy. We honor the victims of Pulse by rejecting attempts to divide us, by celebrating our shared humanity, and by remaining Orlando United — not just today, but every day. The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Executive Editor Roger Simmons, Opinion Editor Krys Fluker and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ottoman-era burial found in Israel may violate Islamic tradition
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In an apparent violation of Islamic tradition, an Ottoman-era grave in Israel's Negev desert holds the remains of not one, but two people: a woman and a boy who might be her son. Islamic tradition states only one person should be buried in a single grave, although allowances can be made for practicality and emergencies. In this case, government archaeologists investigating the grave site, near Rahat in the northern Negev, were surprised to find two individuals in the same grave, which dates from a time when most of the Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman sultans in Istanbul. Radiocarbon dates from the woman's bones are imprecise, but they suggest she died between the ages of 30 and 50 in the middle of the 19th century; her grave was opened again a few years later when the bones of the second person were added, and then they were both reburied. A small limestone slab was found at the head of the grave; tombstones are uncommon for Islamic graves, and the researchers think it was placed at the time of the unusual second burial. Archaeologists think the woman and boy, who lived to between 10 and 15 years old, may have been mother and son, and that the son had first been buried somewhere else. But his bones were likely dug up and reburied alongside his mother so they could be together in death, possibly because of an emotional belief by their living family. "The most important aspect of this find, in my opinion, is the emotional aspect that may have been involved in this unusual burial," Yossi Nagar, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), told Live Science. Related: AI analysis suggests Dead Sea Scrolls are older than scientists thought, but not all experts are convinced He noted that the grave was located in front of the ruins of an ancient mosque that may be from the seventh century and the earliest in Israel, perhaps because it was considered a spiritually important place. But it was impossible to know exactly why these two people had been buried in the same grave. "This is a practice that is unusual in the Muslim burial tradition," he said in an email. "There must be a story behind it!" Nagar added that it's likely, but not yet proven, that the boy was the woman's son. Their ages and sexes were determined through careful study of the bones and teeth. But no DNA studies were attempted, and the researchers noted there have been no successful attempts to extract DNA from bones found in the Negev. (DNA does not preserve well in extremely arid conditions.) Nagar is the lead author of a study published in the latest issue of the IAA journal 'Atiqot that describes excavations of the strange grave, which was unearthed in 2022 on the edge of the archaeological site at Rahat. The modern town is dominated by the descendants of formerly nomadic Arabs, called Bedouins, and archaeological excavations have revealed traces of settlements there since the Iron Age. The land that is now Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria came under Ottoman Turkish rule when they defeated the Mamluk Sultans in the 16th century; and Ottoman rule there lasted until late 1917 and 1918, when the British Army seized the region near the end of World War I. Archaeologist and historian Uzi Baram, a professor emeritus at the New College of Florida, told Live Science the unusual burial at Rahat may show that family feelings had overcome traditions. RELATED STORIES —'Very rare' African ebony figurines found in 1,500-year-old Christian burials in Israeli desert —3,300-year-old cave 'frozen in time' from reign of Ramesses II uncovered in Israel —Ancient cave burial of 'Jesus' midwife' may actually hold a princess The grave was "a moment in time, captured by archaeological excavation and research [and] a facet of the lives of the Bedouin of the Negev, a group otherwise in the shadows of archival records," he said in an email. Baram, who was not involved in the latest study, added the Arab and Ottoman periods in Israel were now better studied than before: "The archaeology of the recent past has become a standard practice, and has produced meaningful insights into historical developments," he said.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Video does not show China recently airdropping aid to Gaza
What was claimed: A video shows China dropping aid on 17 May 2025. Our verdict: This isn't wholly accurate. While the video does depict an aid drop in Gaza, it has been circulating online since at least September 2024. And there's no evidence that China has recently delivered aid to Gaza by air. A video which has been shared over 8,000 times with claims it depicts an air aid drop by China is misleading. The clip, which is circulating on Facebook, was shared on 17 May with the caption: 'This is not Saudi Arabia's 600 Billion This is not Qatar's 1.2 Trillion This is not UAE's 1.4 Trillion This is china dropping air aids today [sic].' In the video, large parachutes can be seen falling from the sky attached to crates, while a large number of people on the ground run to retrieve them. Although neither the caption nor the overlaid text specifies where aid is being dropped, many accounts in the comments reference Gaza or Palestinians. The parachutes seem to be identical to those seen in other videos of humanitarian aid being airdropped into Gaza. The same video was also shared on X (formerly Twitter) on 17 May with claims it showed China dropping food and medical supplies into Gaza. However, this footage does not show China delivering aid through air drops last month. The same clip has been circulating online since at least September 2024, when it was shared on TikTok with a description stating that it showed the 'situation in northern Gaza in obtaining aid'. Full Fact has not been able to verify when or where exactly the video was taken. As we have previously written, we have found no credible reports that China has been delivering aid by air during the 11-week Israeli blockade, which was recently eased to allow a limited amount of food and aid into Gaza. Aid distribution centres in Gaza run by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial US and Israel-backed aid network, were closed on 4 June, following a number of shootings on the roads to the sites, and only two centres were reportedly operating on Thursday, 5 June. Air aid drops from other countries, including the US, UK, Jordan, France, Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, did take place between March and May 2024, but we've not found any reports of these having involved China. China announced in February earlier this year—before the blockade began on 2 March—that it would deliver 60,000 food parcels through Jordan, which according to Chinese media reports, was to be transported over land borders and not by air. We have previously fact checked other videos of aid being air dropped via similar parachutes as well as aeroplanes in flight which have been shared with misleading claims that China was responsible. And similar claims about other images or videos supposedly showing China airdropping aid have been debunked by other fact checkers. Before sharing content like this that you see gaining traction on social media, first consider whether it comes from a trustworthy and reliable source and really depicts what it is claimed to show. Our guide to spotting misleading videos can help you do this. This week (1-7 June) Full Fact is the subject of the BBC Radio 4 Appeal. Listen today to broadcaster and journalist Martha Kearney tell Charlotte's story—all donations mean Full Fact can do more to help people like Charlotte.
