This week marked the start of the holy month of Ramadan. For Muslims worldwide, it is a time of fasting, reflection, and community—a month when the act of breaking fast together at sunset carries deep spiritual meaning.
For Palestinians in Gaza, that meaning has never felt more necessary. This is their third Ramadan since the start of the genocide.
On the first day of Ramadan, AFSC and partners gathered more than 1,600 Palestinians for a community Iftar. Long communal tables were set up outdoors, draped in red tablecloths and lined with chairs. String lights were hung overhead, glowing against the backdrop of destroyed buildings. Live music filled the evening air.
Each person in attendance received a full meal of rice, chicken, dates, salad, and water. They also shared in the experience of breaking fast together, as a community.
AFSC Office Manager Firas opened the event with a warm welcome to the community. “Ramadan is here this year, bringing along mercy and love,” he said. “We are here not simply to eat Iftar, but to stress a fact, a humanitarian one, that we are one body, and we care about one another like how body organs are connected.”
Photo: Hamza Al Shami
Photo: Hamza Al Shami
Photo: Hamza Al Shami
Photo: Hamza Al Shami
The Iftar was organized in partnership with Phoenix for Logistics and supported by community volunteers. It was broadcast live on social media and multiple news sites so people around the world could join us in real time.
In speaking to attendees, Firas reaffirmed AFSC’s enduring commitment to Palestinians. He spoke of how AFSC had been present in Gaza since 1948, and how our current humanitarian relief efforts reflect that same long-term commitment.
“As AFSC, we tell you, you are not alone, and people will continue to support you,” he said. “They see in you dignity. … We might be divided by displacement, but today we are united in one Iftar, to strengthen our brotherhood and sisterhood.”
The Iftar was part of AFSC’s ongoing humanitarian response in Gaza. Since October 2023, AFSC has provided food, water, hygiene kits, and other lifesaving aid to more than one million displaced Palestinians. Supporters like you make this work possible.
Thank you for standing with the people of Gaza this Ramadan and beyond.
