Nearly one thousand displaced Palestinians gathered on Friday, the tenth day of Ramadan, for a communal iftar in Gaza, supported by the Turkish charity Tariq Al Khair. The meal was held among the rubble of the Ain Jalut school in the devastated Zeitoun district, south east of Gaza City, where families now shelter after their homes were destroyed. Against a backdrop of shattered buildings, residents shared food in a rare moment of collective relief.

The event included devotional chants and children’s activities, offering a brief sense of normality in an area described by organisers as completely flattened. Saad Siyam, a member of the charity, said the initiative was intended to strengthen the resilience of families who have endured two years of what Palestinians describe as a war of genocide. He added that residents remain in urgent need of sustained humanitarian and financial support.

Around 1.9 million people out of Gaza’s 2.4 million population are now displaced, many living in fragile tents with little access to basic services after vast swathes of civilian infrastructure were destroyed. Since October 2023, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 171,000 injured, according to Palestinian figures, with an estimated 90 per cent of civilian infrastructure damaged. For pro Palestine supporters, gatherings such as this iftar serve as both humanitarian relief and a symbol of communal steadfastness in the face of ongoing devastation.