Children of Gaza at Eid – searching for a living and striving to survive

Muhammad says: “I sell coffee to support my family. In the past, Eid was a day of joy; we would go out, go for walks, and go to parks, restaurants, and the sea. But now, in light of the war, Eid has become an ordinary day like any other day.”

On another street in the city, the boy Wassim Aliwa calls out in a childish voice to passers-by to buy chocolate. For him, before the war, Eid was an occasion to buy clothes and go out with the family. Now, he sums it up by saying: “Before the war, we used to go and buy clothes during Eid, but now everything is not good.”

Waseem added: “I hope that next Eid will be good, and that there will be games and everything we wish for, and that we will be able to buy clothes that we did not buy this year.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund says:UNICEFMore than 64,000 children in Gaza have been killed or injured, and more than 56,000 have lost one or both parents, while malnutrition, displacement and psychological trauma continue to shape every aspect of the lives of children in the Strip.

While Eid al-Adha in Gaza was associated with family gatherings, new clothes, and the distribution of meat, Gazan children stand among the rubble of destroyed homes, scramble to obtain food from community kitchens, or carry plastic containers to bring usable water to their families amid the scarcity of basic services.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating, with many families still displaced, seeking shelter in overcrowded tents, schools or severely damaged buildings due to the lack of safe alternatives.

Data issued by the Ministry of Health in Gaza indicate that 24 Palestinians were killed and 159 people were injured between May 12 and 20. Thus, the total toll of victims reported killed since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025 rose to 881 dead and 2,621 injured, according to the Ministry of Health.

Amid this, Eid in Gaza becomes less about celebration and more about daily survival. Children selling coffee and chocolate, children waiting for food, others carrying water or playing near the rubble.