Little Ramazan lanterns and string lights appeared on streets lined with collapsed buildings and piles of rubble in Gaza City, bringing joy and respite as the holy month began — the first since October’s ceasefire.

In the Omari mosque, dozens of worshippers performed the first fajr of Ramazan, bare feet on the carpet but donning heavy jackets to stave off the winter cold.

“Despite the occupation, the destruction of mosques and schools, and the demolition of our homes … we came in spite of these harsh conditions”, Abu Adam, a resident of Gaza City who came to pray, told AFP.

“Even last night, when the area was targeted, we remained determined to head to the mosque to worship God,” he said.

A security source in Gaza told AFP on Wednesday that artillery shelling targeted the eastern parts of Gaza City that morning.

The source added that artillery shelling also targeted a refugee camp in central Gaza.

Israel does not allow international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip, preventing AFP and other news organisations from independently verifying casualty figures.

‘Stifled joy’

In Gaza’s south, tens of thousands of people still live in tents and makeshift shelters as they wait for the territory’s reconstruction after a US-brokered ceasefire took hold in October.

Nivin Ahmed, who lives in a tent in the area known as Al-Mawasi, told AFP this first Ramazan without Israeli bombing brought “mixed and varied feelings”.

“The joy is stifled. We miss people who were martyred, are still missing, detained, or even travelled,” he said.

“The Ramazan table used to be full of the most delicious dishes and bring together all our loved ones,” the 50-year-old said.

“Today, I can barely prepare a main dish and a side dish. Everything is expensive. I can’t invite anyone for Iftar or suhoor,” he said.

Despite the ceasefire, shortages remain in Gaza, whose battered economy and material damage have rendered most residents at least partly dependent on humanitarian aid for their basic needs.

But with all entries into the tiny territory under Israeli control, not enough goods are able to enter to bring prices down, according to the United Nations and aid groups.

‘Still special’

Maha Fathi, 37, was displaced from Gaza City and lives in a tent west of the city.

“Despite all the destruction and suffering in Gaza, Ramazan is still special,” she told AFP.

“People have begun to empathise with each other’s suffering again after everyone was preoccupied with themselves during the war.”

She said that her family and neighbours were able to share moments of joy as they prepared food for suhoor and set up Ramazan decorations.

“Everyone longs for the atmosphere of Ramazan. Seeing the decorations and the activity in the markets fills us with hope for a return to stability”, she added.

On the beach at central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, Palestinian artist Yazeed Abu Jarad contributed to the holiday spirit with his art.

In the sand near the Mediterranean Sea, he sculpted “Welcome Ramazan” in ornate Arabic calligraphy, under the curious eye of children from a nearby tent camp.

Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents were displaced at least once during the more than two years of Israel’s unabated bombing of the Palestinian enclave, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Mohammed al-Madhoun, 43, also lives in a tent west of Gaza City, and hopes for brighter days ahead.

“I hope this is the last Ramazan we spend in tents. I feel helpless in front of my children when they ask me to buy lanterns and dream of an Iftar table with all their favourite foods.”

“We try to find joy despite everything”, he said, describing his first Ramazan night out with the neighbours, eating Sehr and praying.

“The children were as if they were on a picnic,” he said.