JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinians prepared for Ramazan in a sombre mood with heightened security measures by Israeli police and the spectre of war and hunger in Gaza overshadowing the normally festive Muslim holy month as talks to secure a ceasefire stalled.
Thousands of police have been deployed around the narrow streets of the Old City in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshippers are expected every day at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of the holiest sites in Islam.
The area, considered the most sacred place by Jews who know it as Temple Mount, has been a longstanding flashpoint for trouble and was one of the starting points of the last war in 2021 between Israel and Hamas, the militant movement that controls Gaza.
That 10-day conflict has been dwarfed by the current war, which is now in its sixth month. It began on Oct 7 when thousands of Hamas fighters stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's relentless campaign in Gaza has caused increasing alarm across the world as the growing risk of famine threatens to add to a death toll that has already passed 31,000.
In a Ramazan message to Muslims at home and abroad, US President Joe Biden pledged on Sunday (Mar 10) to continue to push for humanitarian aid to Gaza, a ceasefire and long-term stability for the region.
"As Muslims gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many. It is front of mind for me," Biden said in the statement.
"To those who are grieving during this time of war, I hear you, I see you, and I pray you find solace."
After some confusion last month when hard-right Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he wanted restrictions on worshippers at Al-Aqsa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the numbers admitted would be similar to last year.
"This is our mosque and we must take care of it," said Azzam Al-Khatib, director general of the Jerusalem Waqf, the religious foundation that oversees Al-Aqsa. "We must protect the presence of Muslims at this mosque, who should be able to enter in big numbers peacefully and safely."
The start of Ramazan depends on lunar observations; for Palestinians it begins on Monday, while it will start on Tuesday in some Arab and Muslim countries.
In contrast to previous years, the usual decorations around the Old City have not been put up and there was a similar sombre tone in towns across the occupied West Bank, where around 400 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with security forces or Jewish settlers since the start of the Gaza war.
"We decided this year that the Old City of Jerusalem won't be decorated out of respect for the blood of our children and the elders and the martyrs," said Ammar Sider, a community leader in the Old City.
Police said they were working to ensure a peaceful Ramazan and had taken extra measures to crack down on what they described as provocative and distorted information on social media networks and had arrested 20 people suspected of incitement to terrorism.
"The Israel Police will continue to act and allow for the observance of Ramazan prayers safely on the Temple Mount, while maintaining security and safety in the area," police said in a statement.
For the rest of the Muslim world, Israel's policing of Al-Aqsa has long been among the most bitterly resented issues and last month, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on Palestinians to march to the mosque at the start of Ramazan.
Last year, clashes that erupted when police entered the mosque compound drew condemnation from the Arab League as well as Saudi Arabia, with which Israel had been seeking to normalise diplomatic ties, extending its push to build ties with regional powers including the United Arab Emirates.
CEASEFIRE HOPES
Hopes for a ceasefire, which would have allowed Ramazan to pass peacefully and enabled the return of at least some of the 134 Israeli hostages held in Gaza, appear to have been disappointed with talks in Cairo apparently stalled.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to more negotiations but, as far as he knew, no dates had been set for further meetings with mediators in Cairo.
International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric discussed the humanitarian situation with Ismael Haniyëh, chair of Hamas' political bureau, in a visit to Qatar on Sunday. She also met with Qatari officials, as part of the group's effort to hold direct talks with all sides, the ICRC said.
In the ruins of Gaza itself, where half the 2.3 million population is squeezed into the southern city of Rafah, many living under plastic tents and facing a severe shortage of food, the mood was correspondingly sombre.
"We made no preparations to welcome Ramazan because we have been fasting for five months now," said Maha, a mother of five, who would normally have filled her home with decorations and stocked her refrigerator with supplies for the evening Iftar celebrations when people break their fast.
"There is no food, we only have some canned food and rice, most of the food items are being sold for imaginary high prices," she said via chat app from Rafah, where she is sheltering with her family.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said in a post on X that the month of Ramazan should “bring a ceasefire for those who have suffered the most” but instead for Gazans "it comes as extreme hunger spreads, displacement continues & fear + anxiety prevail amid threats of a military operation on #Rafah".
In the southern Gaza town of Al-Mawasi, Palestinian health officials said 13 people were killed in an Israeli military strike on a tented area where thousands of displaced people were taking shelter.
There was no immediate Israeli comment.
In the West Bank, which has seen record violence for more than two years and a further surge since the war in Gaza, the stakes are also high, with Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and other volatile towns braced for further clashes.
In Israel, fears of car ramming or stabbing attacks by Palestinians have also led to heightened security preparations.
For many Gazans, there is little alternative but to hope for peace.
"Ramazan is a blessed month despite the fact this year is not like every year, but we are steadfast and patient, and we will welcome the month of Ramazan as usual, with decorations, songs, with prayers, fasting," said Nehad El-Jed, who was displaced with her family in Gaza.
"Next Ramazan, we wish for Gaza to come back, hopefully all the destruction and the siege in Gaza will change, and all will come back in a better condition."