Gaza's Eid marred by Israeli massacres of children and expulsion orders

Amidst hunger and displacement, the Palestinian people endured a bloody Eid al-Fitr. Israeli forces unleashed a barrage of bombs, resulting in the deaths of dozens, including many children, and issued new evacuation orders, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

Marwan Homs, director of the Gaza field hospital for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, stated that since the start of Eid al-Fitr on Sunday morning, intense Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 85 people. According to Al Jazeera, the majority of the deceased were children and women, highlighting the devastating impact on civilian populations.

"Yesterday, I saw the children playing in front of the house because they were preparing for Eid, and they even refused to come in to eat," said Ahmed Kawaja, a relative of sisters Shurooq and Yakin Kawaja, who were killed on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. Kawaja told Middle East Eye, "They were planning for the holiday and eager to wake up early and go out to celebrate. What was the fault of these children to suffer such an end?" He added that the children were killed in their home at 2 a.m. by a bomb.

Kawaja added, "The missile that struck the house destroyed everything, and it was full of children and civilians." According to Kawaja, the small apartment was hit by a missile capable of destroying an entire building. "Instead of taking the children to celebrate Eid, we took them to the hospital morgue – some of them were brought in pieces," he recalled. "A three-year-old girl was killed. What crime did she commit? Where is the world? Where are the free people?"

Another child, Abdul Rahman Miqdad, was killed on Sunday night. Abdul Rahman's uncle, Osama Miqdad, told MEE, "He spent the first day of Eid happily, received his gift money, and then went to sleep. Then at 12 a.m., they were attacked. They are innocent children." Osama said that three-year-old Abdul Rahman was killed along with two other children. Holding his body, Osama told reporters that he had just bought him new clothes for Eid the day before. "He was so happy to wear his new clothes, he was so happy to celebrate Eid," he said, emphasizing the tragic loss of innocent joy.

Another attack occurred on Sunday in a tent in a displaced persons camp in Khan Yunis, killing eight people, including five children. Sunday was one of the deadliest days in Gaza since Israel resumed bombing the besieged enclave on March 18. Overall, since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 15,000 children, underscoring the immense human cost of the conflict.

On the second day of Eid, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in southern Gaza ahead of an anticipated large-scale ground assault. These new orders are among the largest since the start of the war, covering the entire city of Rafah and parts of Khan Yunis. Since resuming bombing earlier this month, Israel's ground advance has been primarily focused on Rafah. Last week, they launched a surprise attack on the Tal al-Sultan area of the city, leaving the wounded "bleeding to death" and trapping another 50,000 people with little access to food and water.

Witnesses told MEE that during the attack, Apache attack helicopters and quadcopters indiscriminately fired on crowds in the area. Communications in the area were also completely cut off. When paramedics responded to distress calls from the area to try to rescue the wounded, they were also attacked and went missing. More than a week later, they were found buried in a mass grave, with signs indicating that they had been executed by Israeli forces. The new evacuation orders have triggered another wave of displacement, with Palestinian families seen fleeing Rafah to Khan Yunis on foot, desperately seeking safety.