Beirut, Lebanon and Gaza City, Palestine – Along the seafront in downtown Beirut, Alaa looks for a place to rest.
The Syrian refugee, originally from the occupied Golan Heights, is now homeless. He explained that he had already spent the day wandering around the Lebanese capital trying to find shelter.
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He used to live in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut that have been hit by Israeli attacks, which have now killed more than 1,000 people across Lebanon.
Now, he’s just looking for a place where he can be safe. And in that context, far from his mind is Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that began on Friday.
When asked if he had any plans for Eid, he replied in the negative. Instead, his attention was focused on getting a tent.
“They turned me away to stay at a school and then I went to sleep on the ledge,” Alaa said. “Then the people from the municipality told me to come here, to the seafront in downtown Beirut.”
Alaa couldn’t find a tent and is sleeping outdoors for now. But others in the area have done it, transforming a center more famous for its expensive restaurants and bars into a tent city for those displaced by the fighting. Across Lebanon, more than a million people have been displaced.
The Lebanese are not sure when this war will end, especially since they have barely recovered from the conflict with Israel that took place between October 2023 and November 2024.
It makes celebrations difficult, a common theme in all countries affected by the current conflict.
In Iran, now in its third week of US-Israeli attacks, with no sign of an immediate end and with an economic crisis preceding the conflict, people are struggling to afford any of the items normally purchased during the holiday season.
And it is potentially dangerous for people to shop in places like Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, which has been damaged by the bombing.
The religious element of Eid adds additional sensitivity for anti-government Iranians, some of whom now see any sign of religiosity as support for the Islamic Republic. The fact that Nowruz – the Persian New Year – falls on a Friday this year means that some in the anti-government camp will focus on that holiday and avoid any events to mark Eid.
Fighting in Gaza
Many Palestinians in Gaza want to celebrate Eid, but the enclave’s economic crisis, caused by Israel’s genocidal war, makes it difficult.
Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods into Gaza, which have increased since the war with Iran began, have further raised prices, including the cost of children’s toys.
Khaled Deeb, a 62-year-old man living in a partially destroyed house in Gaza City, had ventured into the central market of Remal, curious to see how expensive fruits and vegetables had become in the run-up to Eid.
“From the outside, the Eid atmosphere seems lively and vibrant,” Khaled said, pointing to the crowded market. “But from a financial point of view, things are extremely bad. All the people have left their homes and are now living in tents and are displaced. Everyone has lost everything during the war.”
Khaled says he cannot afford to buy fruits and vegetables and will have to do without them. Only “kings” could buy them, he said, not “poor, exhausted people” like him.
What makes it worse is his memory of how things were before the war, when he owned a supermarket.
“During Eid, I would give my daughters and sisters gifts of more than 3,000 shekels ($950) when I visited them, not to mention preparing the house, buying clothes for my children, and sweets and chocolates to welcome the holiday,” Khaled said. None of that is going to happen this Eid, not even with a ceasefire in Gaza.
Shireen Shreim, a mother of three, echoed his sentiment.
“Our joy for Eid is incomplete,” he said as he wandered through the market. “We have emerged from two years of war with immense difficulties, only to face a life in which even the most basic needs are not available.”
And with Israel showing few signs that it is willing to stop violently attacking the Palestinians, as well as other countries in the region, Shireen has no idea when Gaza will be rebuilt.
“I live in an apartment with completely hollow walls,” he explained. “My husband and I put up tarps and wood and continued with our lives. We are much better off than others.”
“Every time I come home I feel sad,” he added. “As you can see, people are living in nylon and cloth tents on the streets, without any human shelter. How will these people celebrate Eid?”
Back in Beirut, Karim Safieddine, a researcher and political organizer, is stoic. He said he would celebrate Eid with his extended family, despite the difficult circumstances.
“Although we have been displaced by the war, we believe that consolidating these family ties and creating a sense of community solidarity is the first and foremost condition for surviving this war,” Karim said.
“Without solidarity we will not be able to build a society, a country,” he stated. “I think it’s a starting point for a lot of people trying to really create a sense of forward-thinking for a country under bombs, without any toxic positivity of course.”
