Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Weary of conflict, Palestinians in Gaza dread prospect of another Ramadan marked by violence

Weary of conflict, Palestinians in Gaza dread prospect of another Ramadan marked by violence

Ramadan is a holy, spiritual month of peace, reflection and prayer in most Muslim countries and communities. For Palestinians in Gaza, however, it has come to be associated with escalations in violence and the outbreak of war, given their experiences in previous years.
Residents have endured the effects of repeated, intense military confrontations between Hamas and Israel during Ramadan for many years, along with shorter bursts of violence.

In recent months there have been growing concerns and warnings about the possibility of a large-scale military conflict between one or more of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel during the holy month, in light of what is seen as continual provocations by Israeli authorities in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

“With every month of Ramadan, every year, we are on a date with a military confrontation or escalation that will last for days, which leaves us during every month of Ramadan in a state of fear and anxiety,” resident Rasmiya Al-Mabhouh, 60, told Arab News

She lives with her four children in a three-story house that was severely damaged during a recent conflict. She fears another escalation of hostilities during Ramadan this year might force her family out of its home once again.

“Our house was damaged in 2021 and we left it and moved to a relative’s house during that period,” Al-Mabhouh said. “There is concern this year that we will return to an escalation during Ramadan, which may cause us to not be able to stay indoors again.”

Fears of the threat of renewed violence have grown as a result of the prevailing security conditions in the West Bank and fears that unrest there might spread to the Gaza Strip. The escalation in tensions since the start of last year has been focused mainly in the northern West Bank, where Israeli incursions into cities and the killing of Palestinians have provoked threats from Palestinian factions, in particular Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to launch rockets into Israel from Gaza.

Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, confirmed in an interview published on the organization’s official website that “the occupation’s attempt to use the month of Ramadan to impose its policy of temporal and spatial division and to allow settlers to perform Talmudic rituals will be met with a reaction.”

He added: “The occupation should not expect that its attempts will pass without a strong response from our people and our resistance, and we warn it against going too far in that, and stress that Hamas is closely monitoring the occupation’s steps in Jerusalem and our patience is running out.”

Two separate meetings have taken place in Aqaba, Jordan, and Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, during which representatives of Israel, Palestine, the US and the host nations held talks in an attempt to prevent an escalation of violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank that could spread to the Gaza Strip.

Gaza resident Rami Al-Danaf, 51, is worried about the possibility of another military confrontation in the Strip, and said that instead of stocking up in advance with all of the supplies his family needs for Ramadan, as he usually does, he will just be buying what he needs from day to day.

“It was our custom in my family to buy all the needs of Ramadan in advance but this year I did not (do that and will buy) things on an almost daily basis, despite the exhaustion in that, because of the fear of the return of the escalation in the Gaza Strip again,” he told Arab News.

“The threats do not stop. There is talk in the media that war is coming during Ramadan in Gaza, so my wife and children are afraid of that.”

This dread of the prospect of another Ramadan conflict is shared by most Gazans, who are weary of violence.

“We do not wish for war or escalation,” 29-year-old Lina Ayada told Arab News. “We hope that the month of Ramadan and then Eid will pass this year without loss of life or destruction.

“We have seen enough in previous years of those wars, and we hope that the month of Ramadan will be good for all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and everywhere else.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×