_Maha Christopher_
Residents of Gaza are observing this year’s Eid al Adha under severe hardship, with many families unable to afford basic festive items such as sacrificial sheep, new clothes, and traditional Eid pastries.
According to AFP, soaring prices, shortages of goods, and the lingering effects of war have overshadowed what is usually a season of joy and celebration.
“I go to the market only to look around because I cannot afford to buy anything. Whenever I ask about prices, I return heartbroken,” Gaza resident Nadia Abu Shamala told AFP.
Shamala, who has been displaced from northern Gaza to Deir al Balah for more than two years, said families were struggling to provide even the simplest needs for their children.
“This year, Eid comes with none of the joy we once knew in Gaza because of the effects of the war, the soaring prices, and our inability to provide even the simplest needs for our children,” she said.
Despite a US brokered ceasefire that began in October 2025, AFP reported that Israeli air strikes still occur frequently across Gaza, where the United Nations says about 80 per cent of buildings were damaged during the conflict.
The crisis has also affected the availability of livestock for Eid sacrifices. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, only about 15,000 sheep remain in Gaza for a population of more than two million people.
A spokesperson for Gaza’s agriculture ministry, Raafat Asaliya, said the prices of sacrificial animals had risen sharply due to shortages and rising feeding and transportation costs.
“A sheep or goat that was sold before the war for around 1,000 shekels is now priced between 11,000 and 15,000 shekels,” he said.
Residents said many families could no longer afford meat for the celebration.
“We have never heard of such prices in our lives,” Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Salem said.
“Families like ours, who used to make sacrifices every year, are now unable even to buy one kilogramme of meat for our children.”
Cooking gas shortages have also made it difficult for families to prepare traditional Eid foods and pastries, forcing some residents to improvise with makeshift clay ovens inside temporary shelters and tents.
