The Palestinian Al-Naji family eats an iftar meal, the breaking of fast, amidst the ruins of their family house, on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on March 11, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
| Photo Credit: AFP
With no end to fighting sight, Palestinians in Gaza began fasting on March 11 for the holy month of Ramadan as hunger worsens across the strip and pressure grows on Israel over the growing humanitarian crisis.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a cease-fire ahead of the normally joyous month of dawn-to-dusk fasting that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid. However, the cease-fire talks stalled last week.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the bodies of 67 people killed by Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll to more than 31,112 since the war began. The Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says that women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 100 captives.
Five months of war have forced around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.