Palestinians in Gaza begin Ramadan with hunger worsening and no end in sight to war
- Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas remained deadlocked at the beginning of Muslim holy month
- More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October, according to officials there
Palestinians began fasting for Ramadan on Monday as the Muslim holy month arrived with ceasefire talks at a standstill, hunger worsening across the Gaza Strip and no end in sight to the five-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.
Prayers were held outside amid the rubble of demolished buildings late Sunday. Some people hung fairy lights and decorations in packed tent camps, and a video from a UN-school-turned-shelter showed children dancing and spraying foam as a man sang into a loudspeaker.
But there was little to celebrate after five months of war that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins.
Families would ordinarily break the daily fast with holiday feasts, but even where food is available, there is little beyond canned goods and the prices are too high for many.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a ceasefire 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, but the talks stalled last week.