Between graves and tents.. a Palestinian elderly woman welcomes Eid al-Adha by bidding farewell to her four children in Gaza

With the sunrise of the blessed Eid al-Adha, the elderly Palestinian woman Nadia Abu Jalhoum did not go to her family's home to celebrate, but rather left her tent in Jabalia camp with a heavy heart towards the Faluja cemetery north of the Gaza Strip. There, among the silent tombstones, the lady searches for her children and grandchildren who were taken by the war, to recite Al-Fatiha for their souls and pray to her Lord in a scene that summarizes the pain of Palestinian families.

Nadia sadly recalls how Eid rituals turned from warm gatherings in her destroyed home to sad stops in cemeteries, where visiting has become an integral part of her new routine after the war. She confirms that the absence of children and grandchildren not only left a void in the place, but also changed the features of the family's daily life, which was full of life before death separated them.

The list of losses in the Abu Jalhoum family is long and painful, including her sons Anwar, 42 years old, Ahmed, 30 years old, and Khamis, who was not more than 26 years old, in addition to her young daughter Sahera, 19 years old. The tragedy did not stop there, but extended to snatch her grandson, the child Moaz, who was martyred at the age of five, leaving behind indelible memories.

The bereaved mother recounts harsh details about the martyrdom of her children, explaining that they were not killed at the same time, but rather fell successively in very close time intervals during military operations. She bitterly wonders about the ability of any mother to bear the loss of her beloved children with only ten days between one martyr and another, which made grief a permanent resident in her heart.

This loss was directly reflected in the surviving children of the family, who constantly ask about their fathers, especially on occasions and holidays when they miss the touch of tenderness. Nadia describes the state of the children as they watch their peers with their fathers, which deepens their wounds and makes Eid an occasion to recall painful memories instead of joy.

In addition to the psychological pain, Nadia's family suffers from harsh living conditions inside a displacement tent that lacks the most basic necessities of life after the occupation completely destroyed their home. The family faces daily challenges represented by the sharp rise in temperatures and the lack of potable water, which makes staying inside the tent a continuous journey of torment.

Security risks increase the family's suffering, as their tent is located in an area close to the 'Yellow Line' north of the Strip, an area that witnesses an intense presence of Israeli occupation forces. Sources reported that residents in that area live in a state of constant terror due to repeated gunfire and non-stop military movements, which threaten their lives at every moment.

Despite all these difficult circumstances and security threats, Nadia insists on continuing to visit the cemetery every Eid, considering it a duty towards her children who sacrificed their lives. She ends her visit calmly to return to her tent, where she tries to gather what remains of her surviving family, in a reality that is becoming more complex with the continuation of the aggression on the besieged Strip.

In a related context, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced a horrific increase in the number of victims, as the number of martyrs reached 72,819, while the number of injured exceeded 172,000 since the beginning of the aggression. Recent statistics indicated that the period since last March witnessed a significant escalation that led to the martyrdom of an additional 922 people, reflecting the scale of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.

Which mother can bear this? Ten days between one martyr and another, and the last one I lost was my grandson, the child Moaz.