In Lebanon, war, displacement mar run-up to Eid al-Fitr holiday for many

Beirut: Normally, Lilian Jamaan would have been shopping for clothes for her daughter and buying meat and sweets in preparation for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan.

But now, “there’s no joy for Eid or for Ramadan or for anything”, Jamaan said by phone from a school-turned-shelter in the Lebanese city of Sidon, where she’s been displaced with her family.

“Everything is difficult,” she said. As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan draws to an end and Muslims worldwide prepare for the typically joyous holiday of Eid al-Fitr, Lebanon has crossed a grim milestone. Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million people in the country, according to the Lebanese government.

Lebanon’s health ministry said 968 people were killed by the Israeli strikes in the country since the renewal of hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah entered the wider Iran war by firing rockets at Israel. That led to the heavy Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, driving many from their homes. “A lot of the kids that I at least spoke to, their biggest wish was to just spend Eid at home,” said Basma Alloush, a spokesperson for the International Rescue Committee.

“Eid is a time where all families come together, people celebrate with their relatives, and it usually brings a lot of peace and joy to families. ... It could be that many of them just spend Eid in shelters, in displacement.” The suffering has played out during Ramadan with scenes of people forced to flee their homes, reduced to sleeping in tents on the streets or in their cars.

Some secured coveted spots in schools and other locations turned into shelters or stayed with relatives; many others scrambled to find makeshift arrangements. Only about 130,000 are in shelters.

For Jamaan, the harsh conditions in displacement meant she could no longer observe many aspects of Ramadan — a time for fasting, increased worship and usually festive communal gatherings with loved ones.