The Moon-sighting committee of the United Arab Emirates announced March 11 (Monday) as the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. This means that the festive month has started without any ceasefire in Gaza, the flashpoint of one of the most devastating conflicts of the twenty-first century that began after Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7 last year and killed about 1,200 citizens.
The consequent state of war in Gaza has killed over 31,000 Palestinians in the blockaded enclave, with a staggering humanitarian crisis forcing assessments of an “imminent famine”.
Ramadan begins without ceasefire: What now?
1. Efforts for a ceasefire are still on: Egypt is reportedly in talks with senior Hamas and Israeli officials as well as other mediators to relaunch talks for a Gaza Strip truce during Ramadan. This means that it’s potentially possible that a ceasefire could be agreed upon sometime later during the holy month. Cairo continues to grapple with repercussions of the Israel-Hamas war and is preparing for refugee influx in case of the ground offensive on Rafah. It is reportedly building a fortified buffer zone along the border with Gaza to accommodate refugees in case of mass exodus from Gaza.
2. The International Crisis Group noted that the start of Ramadan in March could see rising tensions in the West Bank, and beyond. “In particular, should Israel impose restrictions on Muslim worshippers’ access at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex, it could fuel violence by Hezbollah or Palestinian armed groups in Lebanon, increasing the risk of full-scale war,” it said.
Also watch | Gazans preparing for Ramadan under the shadow of the Israel war | Israel-Hamas War
3. Yemen’s Houthi rebels who jumped into the conflict by attacking the Red Sea shipping route in purported solidarity with the Palestinians last November remain undeterred by the US-UK bombing campaign. The Houthis launched near-daily attacks on international shipping in adjacent waters all through February.
4. Mass starvation remains the gravest risk in Gaza amid the continuous state of war. Aid inflow fell by half in Feb and the UN reported 90 per cent of the population facing a high level of acute food insecurity and almost 600,000 “one step away from famine”. UN special rapporteur on the right to food asserted Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians and declared a “situation of genocide”.
