Gaza – Madleen Khalla – Safa
With the arrival of Ramadan, thousands of poor families in the Gaza Strip are renewing their hopes for an improvement in their living conditions. However, about 80,000 families are still receiving the holy month without receiving their financial entitlements under the social affairs category, in a scene that reflects the depth of the economic and social crisis that the besieged sector is suffering from, which has been burdened by the consequences of a devastating war that lasted for two years.
For years, a large segment of families in Gaza have relied on social welfare allowances as their primary source of income to meet their basic needs.
However, the disruption and prolonged suspension of payments deprived tens of thousands of people of this resource, exacerbating poverty and destitution, especially in light of rising prices and eroding job opportunities .
Local estimates indicate that the majority of these families live below the poverty line and rely on relief aid or debt to meet their needs, while the month of Ramadan has turned into an additional burden instead of being a season of goodness and solidarity .
The compounding of accumulated living pressures, damage to infrastructure, and continued restrictions on movement and trade are among the most important factors that increase the vulnerability of poor families in the Gaza Strip.
In the absence of social welfare payments, families find themselves facing difficult choices: either borrowing, reducing meals, or giving up basic needs such as treatment, clothing, and others .
Hashim Al-Daour, one of the affected beneficiaries, says: “I am no longer able to provide for my family’s needs during Ramadan, especially since I am unable to work.”
In his interview with Safa News Agency, Da’our points out that he previously relied on social welfare allowances as a source of income for his family.
He adds, “We are in the month of Ramadan, and the Palestinian Authority and government in Ramallah are supposed to disburse the allowances to those who deserve them. As a result, my family and I are currently living on scraps of food from charitable soup kitchens . “
Al-Daour continues, “No one feels our suffering. We have been going on for almost three years without receiving anything. Displacement, war, and double suffering, and we have not received our dues, and on top of that, it is the month of Ramadan.”
The citizen Al-Daour feels regret when he hears the requests and needs of his children and is unable to meet them. As he explains, he relies on aid to facilitate his life, and he lives below the poverty line like the rest of the beneficiaries of social affairs allowances .
Hashim al-Da’our told Safa: “On the day that no charity comes to the camp, we have nothing to eat. We have no money and our allowances have not been disbursed for years, and the horrors of war have not been enough to make the officials take pity on us and disburse our outstanding dues.”
As for Manar Ahmed, who supports her children after the death of her husband, she says that she faces great difficulty in meeting her children’s needs during the month of Ramadan, noting that she relies on aid and soup kitchens that reach her displacement camp.
She adds, in her interview with Safa News Agency, that she sold some food parcels to buy “Qatayef” sweets for her children ten days after the start of Ramadan and after insistence from her children.
Manar says: ” I am going through difficult times today in light of the increasing needs of my children during the month of Ramadan, especially since I am not employed and my deceased husband did not have a job to secure our lives after him.”
Citizen Manar Ahmed demands that social welfare benefits be disbursed to those entitled to them, especially after a devastating war that left nothing untouched, and with the approach of Eid al-Fitr, during which the needs of her children increase.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Palestinian government in Ramallah has been depriving about 80,000 Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip of their financial entitlements under the “social affairs” category, which were disbursed every 3 months, in a move that reflects a disregard for the lives of the poor and needy and a politically motivated marginalization of them.Ramadan Social Affairs Report
M G
About the Author
