Muslims observe Eid al-Adha in the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza | Religion News

Muslims around the globe are celebrating Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, which commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, earlier than God supplied a sheep in his place.

As a part of the competition, which follows the annual Hajj pilgrimage, worshippers usually slaughter sheep and provide a part of the meat to the needy.

This 12 months’s celebration got here in opposition to the backdrop of Israel’s struggle on Gaza, which has pushed the Center East to the brink of a regional battle.

Palestinians within the Gaza Strip weren’t capable of rejoice Eid al-Adha the best way that they had in earlier years.

Within the southern metropolis of Khan Younis, dozens gathered on Sunday morning close to a destroyed mosque to carry out Eid prayers. They had been surrounded by particles and the rubble of collapsed homes. Within the city of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Muslims held their prayers in a school-turned-shelter. Some, together with ladies and youngsters, went to cemeteries to go to the graves of family members.

“At the moment, after the ninth month, greater than 37,000 martyrs, greater than 87,000 wounded, and a whole bunch of 1000’s of properties had been destroyed,” Abdulhalim Abu Samra, a displaced Palestinian, instructed The Related Press information company after prayers in Khan Younis. “Our individuals dwell in tough circumstances.”

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, additionally reporting from Deir el-Balah, stated Palestinians are attempting to cling to a way of hope. “Palestinians are attempting to do their finest, regardless of Israel’s ongoing aggression, to deliver happiness to younger kids, as lots of them will get up at present and rejoice Eid with out their mother and father.”

The Authorities Media Workplace in Gaza stated on Saturday that Israel was barring the entry of sacrificial animals into the enclave, thus stopping Palestinians from performing sacrificial rituals as a part of Eid al-Adha.

In the meantime, at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, 40,000 Muslims carried out Eid al-Adha prayers, a lot lower than the estimated 100,000 who attended in 2023. On Sunday, Israeli forces additionally assaulted worshippers getting into the mosque and blocked others from reaching the holy website, the Wafa information company reported.

In Ramallah within the West Financial institution, Palestinians additionally convened for the Eid prayers. “We undergo significantly and dwell via tough moments with [what’s happening to] our brothers in Gaza,” stated Mahmoud Mohana, a mosque imam.

In Lebanon, the place Hezbollah has traded almost day by day assaults with Israel over the struggle in Gaza, guests made their method into the Martyrs Cemetery close to the Shatila camp for Palestinian refugees in Beirut early on Sunday morning, bearing flowers and jugs of water for the graves of their family members, an annual custom on the primary day of Eid.

Officers additionally prolonged Eid greetings, with a message of peace.

“I prolong my solidarity with all Muslims who, due to battle, violence & division, will be unable to rejoice with their family members,” stated United Nations Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hoped that the vacation would deliver “peace to our religious geography, particularly Palestine and Sudan”.