- First Ramadan since ceasefire paused 15-month Israel-Hamas conflict
- 58% of Gaza’s religious sites damaged or destroyed (UN data)
- 64% returning families find homes uninhabitable (Red Cross survey)
- Ceasefire extension proposal aligns with Ramadan/Passover timelines
- Food prices up 300% compared to pre-war levels
Fatima Al-Absi’s hands tremble as she arranges salvaged cookware between concrete chunks that were once her Jabaliya home. Like 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents (UNRWA estimates), this grandmother now fasts amidst ruins - her Ramadan rituals reduced to sharing canned beans with surviving relatives. We break bread where walls stood,she says, gesturing toward the bombed Al-Omari Mosque visible through her collapsed ceiling.
The temporary truce enabled 210,000 displaced Palestinians to return north, though most found neighborhoods resembling termite mounds of debrisaccording to Khan Younis shopkeeper Amal Abu Sariyah. Her pre-Ramadan inventory - traditionally dates, lanterns, and spices - now consists entirely of UN flour sacks and discounted canned goods. Customers trade jewelry for baby formula,she notes, a practice verified by three Gaza-based aid groups.
Regional analysts identify three ceasefire complications: Hamas’ demand for full Israeli withdrawal, Netanyahu’s proposed Rafah offensive, and Egypt’s mediation challenges due to Sinai security concerns. The U.S.-brokered proposal currently on the table includes phased hostage releases tied to aid corridor expansions - a mechanism that faltered in 2023 when only 32% of convoys reached northern districts (OCHA reports).
Psychological impacts manifest in what Gaza mental health workers term ritual whiplash.Mosques broadcasting sunset prayers via battery-powered speakers report 40% attendance drops, attributed to trauma from previous airstrikes on congregations. Conversely, community iftars in tent cities have doubled, suggesting social adaptation. Breaking fast alone terrifies people now,explains Deir al-Balah psychologist Dr. Marwan Haddad. Group meals temporarily mute the bombs’ echo.
As Netanyahu’s cabinet debates extending the truce through April, families like the Al-Absis ration lentils beneath tarps, their Ramadan moon now framed by twisted rebar instead of minarets. We’ve traded decorations for duct tape,Fatima sighs, patching a rain leak. Her surviving son Mohamed adds quietly: Maybe next Ramadan, we’ll argue about whose turn it is to wash dishes.
