How one displaced family in Gaza is observing Ramadan's first day under a fragile ceasefire deal

Описание: (19 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muwasi, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – 18 February 2026
1. Various of Al-Zamli children playing with a lantern made from Coca-Cola cans
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kamelia Al Zamli, displaced from Rafah:
”Our situation is very bad because we have no source of income. We rely on the charity kitchen for our meals because we can't afford the vegetables needed for the fasting person’s meal (Iftar).”
3. Various of Kamelia sitting with her children outside their tent
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kamelia Al Zamli, displaced from Rafah:”
"Because of our difficult circumstances, we are observing Ramadan this year in tents that lack basic necessities. My children are making lanterns themselves; they can't buy toys, which are expensive. On the first day of Ramadan, we used to go to the market and buy at least a few simple things for the house, but now, because of our dire situation, we can't afford anything—not vegetables, nothing for the young children.”
5. Various of scrum of displaced people carrying their pots and gathering outside the charity kitchen waiting for cooked food
6. Various of displaced children waiting for food
7. Various of displaced people rising their empty pots
8. Various of charity’s workers handling displaced people tin foil rolls containing cooked rice
9. Various of Kamelia carrying tin foil rolls containing cooked rice and backing to her tent
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Waleed Al-Zamli, displaced from Rafah:
”This is the third year we've welcomed Ramadan with sadness and heartache because we can't provide for our children's basic needs. We can't afford suhoor or iftar. Tonight, God sent some canned goods and a few other things from our neighbors, and we were able to provide suhoor for our children today. But will we be able to do so tomorrow? God knows best.”
11. Various of Kamelia and her husband cooking soup on fire
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Waleed Al-Zamli, displaced from Rafah:
”We face many challenges now, such as worship. There aren't mosques like there used to be, where you could go to pray and worship at night. Now there are no mosques; there are only prayer rooms. And God knows if, while you're going to the mosque, there will be an attack (bombing) nearby, because the war hasn't practically ended. Planes are in the air and tanks are shelling. We don't know if the truce will hold or not. We don't know.”
13. Various of Al-Zamli family sitting on the ground and breaking fast
STORYLINE:
On the first day of Ramadan these children sit outside their tents in the Gaza strip and play with make-shift lanterns they've fashioned from empty soda cans.

It's a far cry from the first day of Ramadan before the war when the al-Zamli family celebrated with sweets and proper lanterns.

Ramadan has arrived in Gaza under a fragile ceasefire deal.

Today they are displaced from their home in Rafah and living in a tent in Muwasi in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.

Their mother Kamelia Al Zamli explained that there was no money so the children were forced to make their own lanterns.

"On the first day of Ramadan, we used to go to the market and buy at least a few simple things for the house, but now, because of our dire situation, we can't afford anything."

Even vegetables are out of the question, so the family depends on food handouts from a charity kitchen for their iftar - fast breaking - meal.

On Wednesday Kamelia joined hundreds of people jostling to get food at the charity kitchen.

They included children, women and elderly people.


Lanterns for the children. Sweets. Special dishes.















Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...