TOPSHOT - Displaced Palestinians collect food donated by a charity before an iftar meal, the breaking of fast, on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 11, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
Abu Mustafa Naji and his wife decided not to leave their home in Gaza even though it was bombed during the Israel-Hamas war. As Ramadan begins, they chose to break their fast on a table in the middle of what's left.
But on Wednesday, the third day of Ramadan, the only sound from the war that can be heard is the buzzing from drones flying above them. Naji set two stones down on the slab as seats for him and his wife, before they broke the day's fast with a meagre meal: A hummus mix, a small bowl of diced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes and some bread. The couple eats in total silence, surrounded by remnants of their home and memories of past Ramadan celebrations.
As night sets in, Naji and his wife save the last of their food for the pre-dawn meal they will have in a few hours' time before another day of fasting begins. He said they stay with the rubble of their old home because they have no better option. "It's just Ramadan on the calendar," he said. "But in reality, in the Gaza Strip, there's no Ramadan, no pre-dawn meal, no iftar.Food in the Gaza Strip has been very difficult to come by since Israel launched its offensive on the region following the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7. The surprise assault left some 1,200 civilians dead in Israel and saw hundreds of hostages taken to Gaza, according to Israeli numbers.
"There is a fast and growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the war is entering its sixth month. The humanitarian conditions there are absolutely appalling in parts of Gaza and especially in the north. People are starving," she told CBC'sTouma said Gaza has been stripped of essential life supplies, aid trucks that enter are swarmed by people and airdrops have led to death as the desperation grows among people looking for food and water.
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