FAITH AMIDST RUINS!! A Heartbreaking Ramadan in Palestine
This Ramadan arrives against a backdrop of devastation, with families observing their fasts not in homes adorned with lanterns, but in tents pitched amid rubble.
Today, as Ramadan dawns across the world, Palestine faces a holy month steeped in sorrow, particularly in Gaza, where the echoes of conflict drown out the usual joy. This Ramadan arrives against a backdrop of devastation, with families observing their fasts not in homes adorned with lanterns, but in tents pitched amid rubble. Over 17 months of war have left Gaza’s landscape scarred—mosques leveled, markets silenced, and over 90% of its 2.3 million people grappling with hunger, according to humanitarian reports.
For Palestinians, Ramadan is traditionally a time of unity, prayer, and celebration. The pre-dawn Sehri meal and the Iftar feast—typically shared with loved ones over qatayef pastries or steaming bowls of lentil soup—symbolize resilience and gratitude. But in 2025, these rituals are fractured. Displaced families, like those in Rafah or Khan Younis, break their fast with scant canned goods or bread made from dwindling flour, if they eat at all. Children, once eager for Eid’s sweets and Eidi gifts, now huddle in flimsy shelters, their laughter replaced by the hum of drones or the silence of loss.
The West Bank, too, mourns. Restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque access in Jerusalem—Islam’s third-holiest site—cast a shadow over Taraweeh prayers, while settler violence and demolished homes deepen the anguish. Yet, amidst this heartbreak, faith endures. Gazans pray beside ruined mosques, their voices rising above the wreckage, and women like Rehan Shurrab craft Ramadan lanterns from aid boxes, defiant sparks of hope.
This Ramadan, Palestine’s steadfastness shines through tears—a poignant reminder of a people holding onto spirit when all else crumbles.
