As people take a break for the Easter holiday, in the Gaza Strip there is no respite from the 18-month-long war with Israel.
Gaza has a tiny Christian community of Greek Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Evangelicals, and Anglicans.
For Ramez al-Souri, the pain is unimaginable. His three children were killed by an Israeli airstrike, on an annex of Gaza’s Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church.
Palestinian health officials say the attack on 19 October 2023 killed 18 people inside the building.
“My home has changed completely because there are no smiles, no laughter, no joy,” Mr Al-Souri says.
“I lost my flower – my daughter Julie – and my boys Suhail and Majd. They were salt of the Earth.”
Shrouded in darkness
Julia was 12 years old, Suhial 14 and Majd 11.
It is a loss that never leaves Mr Al-Souri, and one shared by almost every family in Gaza.
Walking through the cemetery, he gently places a small bouquet of flowers on his children’s grave. Gunfire crackles in the distance. The neighbourhood is full of rubble and destruction.
“This Easter is no different than the last,” Mr Al-Souri says.
“We are tending to our wounds.
“We continue to hope for an end to this war and suffering, for the darkness over Gaza to finally lift.”
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How two hours of terror unfolded
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No end in sight
But there is no sign of light for more than two million people trapped inside Gaza.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a special address to the nation on Saturday night and vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel has “no choice” but to keep fighting “for our very own existence until victory.”
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Israel is calling for Hamas to disarm and to release 10 Israeli hostages in exchange for a 45-day ceasefire.
There are 59 hostages still inside Gaza. It is believed 24 of them are still alive.
Hamas has rejected the proposal. It argues Israel reneged on the first ceasefire deal by refusing to move to phase two of the agreement and withdraw Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
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A disaster on the ground
Since the ceasefire collapsed on 2 March, Israel’s bombing campaign has intensified.
Palestinian health officials say more than 1,700 people have been killed in the last month, and more than 90 people in the last 24 hours.
The humanitarian situation is a disaster. At the few remaining soup kitchens in Gaza, children scramble for food. They carry pots for their family and push forward trying to secure a bowl of lentils or rice.
Israel has blocked aid trucks from entering for the last seven weeks. It says it is to put pressure on Hamas.
But the pressure is being felt by civilians, creating what aid groups say is the most severe crisis Gaza has ever faced.
Israel has cut off vital supplies of food and medicine, but insists it is not using starvation as a weapon of war. It rejects any suggestion Gaza does not have enough food and accuses Hamas of stealing it.
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‘We’re craving food’
Seven members of the Al-Asheh family are displaced and live in a tent in Deir al-Balah.
Twelve-year-old Ahmed says before the war he didn’t like lentils, now it is all he eats.
“Before the war, we used to have fruits, chicken, vegetables, everything was available. We were never hungry,” Ahmed explains.
“Now, we’re craving food, chicken – anything. The only thing we can eat now is what the soup kitchen provides.”
It is clear that ceasefire talks are going nowhere, and Israel has tightened its blockade and deepened its war.
More than 400,000 Palestinians have recently been displaced yet again as Israel has expanded a buffer zone inside Gaza, levelling houses to create a “security zone”.
For Palestinians, this constitutes a “land grab”.
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‘A symbol of the world’s conscience’
Israel has also established another military corridor in southern Gaza, calling it Morag corridor.
The corridor is north of Rafah and has cut Gaza’s second-largest city off from the rest of the territory. Israel says it has now taken control of 30% of the Gaza Strip and insists it will not withdraw.
For Palestinians, the future has never looked more bleak. They are blockaded, displaced, struggling for food, water, basic sanitation and in constant search of safety.
“Gaza is calling on the world to stand by it,” Mr Al-Souri says.
“Gaza stands as a symbol of the world’s moral conscience.”
