As Muslims around the world marked `Eid Al-Adha with festivities and celebrations, young children in Gaza marked a somber `Eid, remembering the dear ones they lost during the seven-week Israeli aggression on the besieged strip.
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"Happy `Eid, father," nine-year-old Majd Dahduh said softly as he clutched a bouquet of flowers, kneeling by the grave of his father at the Sheikh Radwan Martyrs Cemetery, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Saturday, October 4.
"He used to bring us presents for the `Eid and we used to go with him to the mosque to pray. Now he is in heaven," he said, sobbing.
Surrounded by the rubble of a deadly war with Israel, Gazans marked a somber Eid al-Adha festival Saturday with prayers and visits to the graves of relatives.
Majd’s father, Shaaban Dahduh, was a top commander of the Islamic Jihad group who was killed in an Israeli attack that targeted an eight-storey apartment bloc.
"He meant everything for us and we are proud of him," said his widow.
The seven-week war that ended with a truce on August 26 killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 on the Israeli side, most of whom were soldiers.
It caused huge destruction to homes and infrastructure, leaving more than 100,000 Palestinians homeless in the long term, according to the United Nations.
In the eastern Gaza district of Shejaiya, destroyed heavily by Israeli bombardment, udhiyah was a rare scene.
Early on the `Eid day, young children gathered around a butcher slaughtering only two sheep and a cow that were donated by a charity.
The meat will be distributed to the poorest residents of the coastal enclave.
`Eid Al-Adha, or "Feast of Sacrifice”, marks the end of the Hajj season and is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations, together with `Eid Al-Fitr.
A financially-able Muslim sacrifices a single sheep or goat or shares with six others in sacrificing a camel or cow as an act of worship during the four-day `Eid Al-Adha celebrations.
The ritual commemorates Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah as an act of obedience and submission.
The Udhiyah meat is divided in three equal parts, one each for one's own family, friends and the poor.
`Eid Despite Destruction
On the ruins of his home, Thabet al-Hamami pitched a tent and offered sweets to relatives and friends.
"We will celebrate the feast, no matter what," his son Naeem said.
Mohammad Sukkar, another Gazan resident, handed out dates and coffee to well-wishers.
"We don't feel the holiday but we are trying to bring some joy into the hearts of the children of our martyrs," Sukkar said.
"The economic situation is dire," said Karam al-Batsh who runs a charity organization that bought sheep with money from donors.
Some of the Palestinian factions in the Strip have also distributed meat to the homeless and to families who lost a loved one in the war, he added.
Former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya also delivered a speech to mark `Eid stressing the need to rebuild the Strip.
He pledged Hamas "will continue to bolster and develop its resistance until the land has been liberated" from Israeli occupation.
Islamic Jihad official Khodr Habib, in a separate speech, told worshippers "we will celebrate despite the destruction. The enemy will not rejoice in killing our happiness." /SR
