Religious or not, festivals have long been part of all cultures. They create special moments and emotions in our lives. They also teach us to forget enmity and embrace one another in a bond of love.
Children are particularly the ones who enjoy festivals more than adults. To them, festivals mean decorations, sweets, gifts, games, and lots of other celebrations.
Eid Al Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is one such festival that Muslims around the world celebrate to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.
Notwithstanding the fact that Eid is a reminder of love prevailing over hatred, this year’s celebration came against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Gaza. Palestinians greeted Eid with hunger, bombs and bullets.
Instead of celebrating Eid, many of them visited the graves of their dear ones in makeshift cemeteries. There were no rich meals and gifts to children and donations to the poor.
Reports and images show that many families ate canned food in stifling tents. Pitifully, this acts are against the way they are supposed to be that Eid celebrations include large family feasts and new clothes and gifts for children.
Amid this devastating war, ceasefire talks led by US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators remain mired. CNN reports reveal that talks were "thrown into doubt when Israel characterised a Hamas response to the latest proposal as a rejection, precipitating a blame game between the two sides.”
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the war has already killed over 37,000 Palestinians and destroyed most of the strip’s agriculture and food production, leaving people dependent on humanitarian aid that has been held up by Israeli restrictions and the ongoing fighting.
Since the war broke out on October 7, nearly 2.3 million Palestinians have already fled their homes. Reports quoting the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said that Israel is holding 9,300 Palestinians in prisons and detention centres, including around 250 children and 75 women.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that one million Gazans will face “death and starvation by mid-July”.
Pathetically, the war has taken a horrendous toll on the lives of children. Hundreds of thousands of children are affected following the escalation of hostilities in Gaza and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
Gaza’s population is one of the youngest in the world, with nearly half under the age of 18 out of a total of 2.3 million people. These children are under constant bombardment, with many packed into temporary shelters in schools. Even there, they are not safe that schools have been hit by bombs.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, more than 50,000 children in the Gaza Strip require immediate medical treatment for acute malnutrition. The toll on their mental and physical health and their education is utterly devastating and will affect an entire generation unless leaders step up to pursue immediate and lasting peace.
But why are children not protected during wars?
Despite internationally accepted rules under the Geneva Conventions in 1949 that children must be protected and treated humanely in armed conflicts, they are often separated from their families, driven from their homes, killed, maimed, sexually abused, or exploited in other ways. Israel ratified the Geneva Conventions in 1951.
Even when the war finally ends, it is not clear how many children will get the benefit of education, healthcare, nutrition and other necessities, leave alone the opportunities to play and relax.
The children of Gaza deserve the chance to heal. They still have dreams, they still have hopes, and they still have aspirations. But what is lacking is the right support mechanism.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
