By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Share this story

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians began fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Monday with cease-fire talks at a standstill, hunger worsening across the Gaza Strip and no end in sight to the 5-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.

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

ADVERTISING

But there was little to celebrate after five months of war that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins. 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 Sunday in the southernmost city of Rafah. “Every family is sad. Every family has a martyr.”

The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a cease-fire ahead of the normally joyous holiday that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid, 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 has rejected that demand, vowing to continue the offensive until “total victory” against the militant group and the release of all the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Netanyahu said Monday 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. They are all dead men. We will reach them all,” he said.

Netanyahu was likely referencing the 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.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to honor 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.”

Israel has vowed to expand its offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge, without saying where civilians would go to escape the onslaught. President Joe Biden has said an attack on Rafah would be a “red line” for him, but that the United States would continue to provide military aid to Israel.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that at least 31,112 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, including 67 bodies brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Speaking on Saturday to MSNBC, Biden said Israel “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost.”