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Gaza City – In his tent, where he spent most of Israel’s war on Gaza, 68-year-old I’tidal Hamdan is preparing for his third consecutive Eid al-Adha away from home.
Hamdan thought this year would be different. She hoped to fulfill her lifelong dream of performing the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, with her husband. But she has no chance to leave Gaza, and her husband, 67, was killed in an Israeli strike last year.
“I’ve probably been dreaming about this for over 10 years,” he told Al Jazeera. “My husband wanted Hajj very much… and he was killed before he could fulfill his wish.”
Israel’s restrictions on exits from Gaza mean that for the third year, no pilgrims are going to the Hajj – the pilgrimage that coincides with Eid al-Adha.
Many displaced families are unable to return to their homes, if the houses are still standing, and decorate them with Eid decorations due to Israel’s restrictions on travel.
The Israeli siege and the war in Gaza meant that few cows or sheep survived, so the ritual of animal sacrifice – another important element of the festival – will be known by few families this year.
Before the war, the name of Hamdan, together with her husband, appeared in the list of Hajj for 2024, with strict limits on the number of pilgrims allowed from each country due to the high demand among the 2 billion Muslims in the world. But Israel’s war of destruction in Gaza stopped this event once and for all for Hamdan.
Since the first days of the war, Hamdan, a mother of 11 children, and her family were forced to flee their home when Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza was bombed by heavy Israeli bombs.
In addition to the death of her husband, two of her sons and six of her grandchildren were also killed in separate clashes with Israel during the war.
Despite this, Hamdan still clings to the hope that he will finally end the long journey of sorrow and pain by performing the Hajj, but not this year.
Eid without sacrifice
Emad Suhweil, 43, a father of five who fled his home in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, says the lack of livestock in the markets means that Eid al-Adha has lost another dimension.
“Every year we would sacrifice… we would kill, rejoice, eat together, and give to the poor, those were good days” he told Al Jazeera. “I would buy a sheep or share a calf with them.”
The sacrifice traditionally ends with a feast that gathers the whole family around one table, creating joy and happiness. But amid the loss and hardship, feasting is far from the mind of many people in Gaza this year.
“What is Eid al-Adha without sacrifice or Hajj? Nowadays, people don’t even think about sacrifice… they can’t even afford two kilograms of vegetables,” he adds. “We are all struggling to make ends meet because of rising prices.”
Although there are few livestock in Gaza, buying meat is unaffordable for most families, Suhwell says.
“Sheep used to be bought for about 400-500 Jordanian dinars ($560-$700), or about 2,000 shekels, before the war 16,000-17,000 shekels ($4,400-$4,700) for 50 kilograms,” the weak animal is very small.
There are reports that an animal that normally cost $400 to $600 in previous years can now sell for up to $6,000.
‘Besieged’
Since the start of the war in October 2023, the livestock sector in Gaza has been severely damaged. More than 90 percent of livestock farms have been destroyed or damaged as a result of Israeli attacks and restrictions on the movement of agricultural goods, according to Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Israel has also banned the entry of live animals into the house, which would have solved some of the problems caused by the lack of housing.
There are some popular traditions in Eid that will be lost this year.
“Now I can’t buy new clothes for my children because of the cost; most people are like me,” says Suhweil.
“Women, girls, boys, and children are all standing in lines to give aid.
Fawzi Hamdan, 63, a father of seven, says that three years of war have changed the image of Eid he once knew.
“I was saving to do Hajj with my wife… but things didn’t allow,” Hamdan told Al Jazeera.
“We are surrounded…
Eid al-Adha in 2025 was spent by many in Gaza who live under famine-like conditions, without even basic necessities.
“Last year, I changed the offering to a can of canned meat … this year, I don’t know,” he laughs. “Perhaps it will be permissible for us to kill a chicken as a sacrifice… or to buy winter meat?”
Unbearable difficulties
Intisar Awda, 56, a mother of 10 refugee children in Beit Hanoon, remembers a time when Gaza’s homes were full of activities, trips, and preparations for children’s happiness.
“We used to cook Eid tables full of the best kinds of meat and dishes…we used to sacrifice, feel Eid, feel happiness,” he says.
Awda lost her 35-year-old daughter, and her three grandchildren were scattered among different relatives. Although he is facing all these problems, he says that the war has taught him a lesson in patience.
“We’ve been displaced and we’re suffering a lot… but we still have hope even if it’s lost,” he says.
“I hope that the next Eid will come without war… I always say, ‘Oh God, don’t take me before I go to the Kaaba… Me and my husband, together.”
