On Eid's eve, many Gazans miss moon-sighting

GAZA CITY 

Standing on top of what used to be his family's house – now turned to rubble by an Israeli strike a few days ago – Saad Alyan, 24, longs for the days when he could sight the moon, which promulgates the Islamic Eid in the Gaza Strip.

For years, Alyan used to ascend the stairs of the house to the rooftop and sight the moon from there to know whether the feast, which follows the holy fasting month of Ramadan, would start on the following day.

This year, however, Alyan will not be able to sight the moon, because the house is no longer there. Israel has already turned this house into a pile of dust, broken concrete, and broken bricks.

“Gazans won't be able to enjoy the feast this year," Alyan told Anadolu Agency. "There's so much pain and tragedy that will efface the joyful sight of this year’s moon,” he added.

The three-day Muslim feast, which celebrates the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, comes this year amid an overwhelming Israeli military offensive in the embattled Gaza Strip.

The offensive, called operation "Protective Edge" has left 1031 people dead and 6233 injured so far since it began on July 7.

Hundreds of homes were also totally destroyed by Israeli strikes, while thousands of other homes were partially destroyed.

Alyan's family's home was one of those homes which were totally devastated by Israeli strikes.

Pain

Equally affected is Raafat Ashour, another Gaza resident in his fifties. Ashour said the Israeli war on Gaza had spoiled the taste of the feast for most of the residents of the coastal Palestinian enclave.

"As the feast's moon appears, thousands of Gaza residents would be sleeping on the streets,” Rouba al-Sousi, 25, one of tens of thousands of Gazans who were displaced because of Israeli strikes, said.

The feast is due to start on Monday here as well as in some other Islamic countries. Celebrations usually start after the traditional moon-sighting which is usually done by Islamic leaderships in each of these countries.

On the eve of the feast, few Gazans were shopping to buy needs for the religious celebration. Fewer people were also buying new clothes for the event.

“The feast's moon will appear to sobs of orphaned children and widowed and homeless women,” al-Sousi said with bitterness.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip - which has been reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2006 - from air, ground and sea since July 7.

Israel claims that the military offensive aims at undermining the ability of Gaza's resistance movements to launch rocket attacks

The Israeli offensive – codenamed "Protective Edge" - is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely populated Gaza Strip - home to 1.8 million Palestinians - within the last six years.

By Ola Attalah

www.aa.com.tr/en