It was a somber scene as Randa Baker and her family sat on the ground in their tent in southern Gaza at sunset Monday for their meal breaking their first day of fasting in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Three of her children were largely silent as Randa set down a platter of rice and potatoes and bowls of peas, a meal pieced together from charity and humanitarian aid. Randa’s 12-year-old son, Amir, was too ill to join them; he had a stroke before the war and is incapacitated.
Israeli police have prevented hundreds of young Palestinians from entering a contested holy site in Jerusalem for the first prayer in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Israeli media reported on Monday. A video clip filmed no Sunday and published by Haaretz newspaper showed uniformed police using batons to drive people back along a narrow passageway. Media reports spoke of crowds and isolated clashes in Jerusalem. Some young people did manage to gain access to the holy site, known to Jews as the
With no end to fighting in sight, Palestinians in Gaza began fasting for the holy month of Ramadan on Monday as hunger worsens across the strip and pressure grows on Israel over the growing humanitarian crisis. The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a cease-fire ahead of the normally joyous month of dawn-to-dusk fasting that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid, but the talks stalled last week. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage.