Gaza war survivors mark another sombre Ramadan far from home (2025)
Story for Al Jazeera English: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/2/28/gaza-war-survivors-mark-another-sombre-ramadan-far-from-home
More than 1,400 Palestinians evacuated to Doha mark Ramadan away from Gaza, longing to reunite with their families.
Doha, Qatar – Haya al-Barai is preparing for another quiet Ramadan in Qatar. She will mark the Muslim holy month with her grandmother far from home.
Israel’s war on Gaza has torn her family apart.
The 16-year-old arrived in Qatar’s capital in December 2023 after her parents were killed in Israeli air attacks. Al-Barai was wounded in the attacks and is now a paraplegic.
One of her sisters, who was also wounded, is in Türkiye. Her other two sisters and a brother remain in Gaza.
“I don’t want to celebrate Ramadan here. I used to enjoy Ramadan with my family. We would eat and play games together. My family was together at that time,” Haya said.
Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023 has left more than 38,000 Palestinians orphaned.
About 1,400 Palestinians have been evacuated to Doha with nearly 500 of them wounded.
Most of them are now residing in a compound in Thumama, on the southern outskirts of Qatar’s capital.
For Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time of fasting, prayer and reflection, and also a time to share with loved ones.
For many Palestinian evacuees in Doha, this Ramadan marks another year of separation from their family in Gaza.
Hamsa al-Raqp, 12, lost her left eye and broke her right arm in an Israeli air attack. She remembers the happiness of playing games with her cousins during Ramadan in Gaza.
Her father, Maher, said the family has not celebrated Ramadan since the war in Gaza began.
“Last year, as the killing continued, we did not do anything for Ramadan. I watched television all day and worried about my family still in Gaza. I check on them every day just to make sure they are alive,” Maher said. “This year’s Ramadan makes no difference to me, as my wife and my three children remain in Gaza.”
Haya al-Barai, 16, and her grandmother Souad al-Barai, 73, arrived in Doha in December 2023. Souad cried when she recalled the day she found out her son was killed. It happened in October 2024, 10 months after she and Haya settled in Doha. She was watching Al Jazeera Arabic news, and saw a man lying on the floor. She did not know that was her son, as his face was covered with blood, until her relative told her. The air raid hit the small tent he built in front of his destroyed home, in which he stayed with his other children. His children were not it the tent at that time. Meanwhile, Haya said she wants her grandmother to feel good and not to remember the past and the bad things that happened to her.
Rushi Abu al-Ross, 16, does his homework at his apartment in Doha. He and his mother Adwaa Abu al-Roos, 44, arrived in Doha in December 2023. He hurt his spinal cord and legs during the war and still not be able to walk yet.
(From Left) The al-Agha family. Sara al-Agha, 17, Leen al-Agha, 9, Samer al-Agha, 44, Nesma al-Agha, 43, and Lama al-Agha, 15. The al-Agha family arrived in Doha in December 2023. Nesma has a family of 7, including herself. The airstrike killed her 15 years old daughter Sama and her 11 years old son Yahya. She wants to visit her children’s graves when she goes back to Gaza. “I have no hope and no feeling now, I am still sad about what happened,” Nesma said.
Sara hangs the Palestinian flag on the wall.
Adwaa did not celebrate Ramadan last year. This year, Adwaa decorated her home in Doha and will prepare Palestinian dishes such as makdous and musakhan to mark the occasion. However, the absence of her loved ones in Gaza – her husband and her son still weighs heavily on her heart.
The al-Hatow family. Rabab, 37, and two of her sons, Asham (left), 14, and Ibrahim, 10. They arrived in Doha in May 2024. An Israeli air attack killed Rabab’s 8 years old daughter Malak. Her husband, two daughters and her son remain in Gaza. Rabab said she appreciated everything here but she still misses home.
A nurse helps Lama with her prosthetic leg walk during a physiotherapy session. It took Lama nine months to learn to walk again. She cried when she knew that she lost her leg. Later on she accepted the situation and believed that her leg went to paradise before her. “I must be strong.” Lama said.
Rabab participates in a sewing class with other Palestinian women. She started learning to sew when she arrived in Doha.
Haya heads out for a walk. She misses Gaza, even though her parents passed away. However, she does not want to go back to Gaza because she lost her parents and her home was destroyed. She wants to bring her siblings to Doha. But her grandmother wants to go back to Gaza to take care of her grandchildren.
Ibrahim looks outside the window. He said his life in Gaza was good. He misses a lot of things especially his father and his sisters.