Ramadan begins but joy, like food, is scant

RAFAH: Palestinians have begun fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with ceasefire talks at a standstill, hunger worsening across the Gaza Strip and no end in sight to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Prayers were held outside amid the rubble of demolished buildings yesterday. Fairy lights and decorations were hung in tent camps, and a video from a UN-school-turnedshelter showed children dancing and spraying foam in celebration as a man sang into a loudspeaker.

But there was little to celebrate after five months of war.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the bodies of 67 people killed by Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals over the previous 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll to more than 31,112.

Families would ordinarily break the daily sunrise-to-sundown fast with holiday feasts, but even where food is available, there is little beyond canned goods, and the prices are too high for many.

‘‘You don’t see anyone with joy in their eyes,’’ said Sabah al-Hendi, who was shopping for food in the southernmost city of Rafah. ‘‘Every family is sad. Every family has a martyr.’’

The US, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a ceasefire ahead of the normally joyous holiday, but the talks have stalled.

Hamas is demanding guarantees that any such agreement will lead to an end to the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel had killed ‘‘Hamas’ number four’’ leader and added that more targeted killings were to come.

‘‘Three, two, and one are on the way,’’ he said.

‘‘They are all dead men. We will reach them all.’’

Netanyahu was likely referencing the likely assassination of Saleh Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group’s military wing, who was killed in a blast in Beirut in January. Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast, although it did not take responsibility. The IDF said it was checking the report.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to honour the spirit of Ramadan by ‘‘silencing the guns’’ and releasing all the hostages. ‘‘The eyes of the world are watching. The eyes of history are watching. We cannot look away,’’ he said. ‘‘We must act to avoid more preventable deaths. . . Desperate civilians need action – immediate action.’’

Israeli forces have largely sealed off the north since October, and aid groups say Israeli restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of law and order have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver desperately needed food in much of the territory.

Israel has vowed to expand its offensive to the southern city of Rafah. US President Joe Biden has said an attack on Rafah would be a ‘‘red line’’ for him, but that the US would continue to provide military aid to Israel.

Biden acknowledged in his annual Ramadan message that the holy month comes ‘‘at a moment of intense pain’’.

‘‘As Muslims gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many. It is front of mind for me,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government said younger children and older adults would be the only West Bank Palestinians permitted to enter a major Jerusalem holy site for the important first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this week.

Militant groups have called on Palestinians to come to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has often been a flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian violence, to confront Israel over the war in Gaza.

When Ramadan began, COGAT, the Israeli defence body in charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank, had yet to announce restrictions on prayers at Al-Aqsa.

The rules announced yesterday would limit West Bank Palestinians’ access to the compound for Friday’s prayers to men over 55, women over 50 and children under 10, COGAT chief Ghassan Elian said in a post on Facebook. All Palestinians from the West Bank would also need a permit, he added, without elaborating.

AP, Reuters