The holy month of Ramadan, which ends this week, is a time for spiritual renewal, community bonding, and reflection on one’s relationship with God and one’s fellow human beings.
Worshipers listen to a sermon about the suffering in Gaza during noon prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
But this year, in the Old City of Jerusalem and throughout the Muslim world, the evening feasts to mark the end of the fasting day were marked by sadness and frugality.
Like many Muslims, chef Izz al-Din Bukhari and his mother Hala, from Jerusalem, have abandoned expensive traditional “Iftar” meals for simple dishes in sympathy with the plight of their fellow Palestinians trapped in a fierce war in Gaza between Israel and the armed Hamas movement. .
On a recent Friday, as the call to prayer echoed through the Old City's Islamic Quarter, the couple broke their fast in silence, eating reheated leftovers and stale bread dipped in garlic sauce.
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1. A Palestinian child plays in the Islamic Quarter in the Old City. 2. Israeli security officers stand guard as worshipers line up to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Security measures have been strengthened amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
3. A man distributes water to those heading to Al-Aqsa Mosque on a road devoid of the usual Ramadan decorations this year.
Like many Palestinians, the Bukhari family has relatives in Gaza, most of whom have been unable to escape the six-month-old Israeli bombing that has killed more than 33,000 people, most of them women and children, according to Gaza officials. Authorities say the war began on October 7 when Hamas-led militants from Gaza attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage.
In addition to the widespread devastation, Gazans are suffering from severe food and medicine shortages and face possible famine in the coming weeks, according to relief organizations.
The staggering death toll and scale of suffering have changed the way Ramadan is celebrated. Jerusalem, home to some of Islam's holy sites, is usually festive with music, bright lights and colorful decorations along the stone alleyways of the Muslim Quarter.
1. The large number of worshipers praying outside the mosque. 2. Shopkeepers in the Old City kneel for the evening prayer.
This year, worshipers walked along dimly lit paths, devoid of signs of celebration, a somber reminder of the war in Gaza.
Muslims head to Al-Aqsa Mosque on a road devoid of Ramadan decorations.
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1. Anas Abu Asab prepares bottles of fresh carrot juice, a breakfast staple, in Jerusalem's Old City. 2. Qatayef, a popular Ramadan dessert, is prepared in a family-run shop dating back more than 320 years. 3. Men prepare Jerusalem Kaak, a type of bread common during Ramadan, at Abu Hazem Abu Sneineh Bakery. 4. Abu Ali Eid weighs a bag of olives for customers. 5. Muslims walk to Al-Aqsa Mosque carrying iftar meals.
Muslims head to Al-Aqsa Mosque carrying iftar meals, and sometimes their children.
Worshipers pray at the entrances to the market leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
People gather near Damascus Gate on Friday, which is Laylat al-Qadr, “the Night of Destiny.”
The alleys of Jerusalem's Old City lack the usual Ramadan decorations.
Yam reported from Jerusalem and Wilkinson reported from Washington.
