Muslim nations to enter Ramadan as Israelis are starving Gaza
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Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Yemen and UAE have all announced the start of Ramadan on Monday, March 11.
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Palestinians pray in front of a mosque destroyed by the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 8, 2024, ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Several Islamic countries on Sunday announced that the fasting month of Ramadan is set to begin on Monday. Among them are Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE.
While the crescent moon was clearly sighted in the UAE and Qatar, Saudi observers were initially reluctant to declare Monday as the first day of Ramadan due to the moon being obscured by "cloudy weather and dust particles".
However, the final confirmation of the sighting was provided by the Al Majmaah University Astronomical Observatory in Riyadh.
Yemeni Saba Agency reported that The Yemeni Dar al-Fatwa announced that tomorrow, Monday, is the first day of Ramadan.
Read more: South Africa seeks ICJ action on Israeli-induced Gaza starvation
Ramadan constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of Islam. The fact that some countries made no reference to the suffering of Gazans may indicate significant political pressure to take the genocide off the public discourse.
But some have expressed their remorse over the matter. For instance, while shopping at a Riyadh mall, a Saudi government employee told AFP: "This is the worst Ramadan I have ever experienced in my life."
"I feel ashamed as I shop for meat and chicken for my family, while the people of Gaza are experiencing famine," he said.
In Jordan, the the kingdom's Grand Mufti Ahmed Hasnat asked God to "relieve the anguish of our oppressed people in Gaza" and "lift affliction and aggression from them".
Moreover, Ansar Allah's leader in Yemen Sayid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on Sunday that the Yemeni people are honored to show sympathy for "the pains of the Islamic Ummah" and the oppression that has been inflicted on the people of Gaza.
Countries that announced the first day of Ramadan to begin on Tuesday include Iran, Libya, and Oman.
Read more: Famine in Gaza causing women to give birth to stillborn babies
In Gaza, Palestinian civilians expressed concerns to AFP about how the month will unfold. Nearly 1.5 million of the entire population have sought refuge in the small southern city of Rafah.
"Of course, this Ramadan is completely different from all the Ramadans that have gone before it," Bassel Yassin, an agricultural engineer, told AFP.
Hassuna Tabib Hassnan, a dentist displaced from Gaza City in the north, expressed uncertainty about how the month would conclude, whether it would be "in our homes, in a tent, by the sea in the north or in the south."
"We had hoped that for Ramadan (we) would be in our homes, but unfortunately it is clear that we will live in displacement, pain and oppression," he added.
Over 30,000 Palestinians have been martyred since the start of the war. Numbers are expected to rise further as the population is facing a famine. Gaza's Government Office has already confirmed that 20 Palestinian citizens have died due to famine.
