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Coronavirus Upends Eid Traditions in Saudi Arabia

Streets are deserted in Saudi Arabia amid curfew imposed over the coronavirus. (SPA)
Streets are deserted in Saudi Arabia amid curfew imposed over the coronavirus. (SPA)
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Coronavirus Upends Eid Traditions in Saudi Arabia

Streets are deserted in Saudi Arabia amid curfew imposed over the coronavirus. (SPA)
Streets are deserted in Saudi Arabia amid curfew imposed over the coronavirus. (SPA)

The coronavirus has imposed a certain standstill in Saudi streets and has deprived the Kingdom of the movement that was always part of Eid al-Fitr holiday tradition. The virus has contravened Eid rituals and turned family visits into virtual ones. It limited gifts to shipping services under social distancing. Many families have opted to hold a very restricted celebration by gathering members of each family in one house without breaking precautionary measures.

Ten days after the Ministry of Interior announced curfew during the holiday to prevent the spread of the virus, people started to plan for the celebration in line with the social distancing norms.

With these precautionary measures, Eid rituals this year are likely to be digital with people celebrating on social media and “visiting” relatives via video call applications.

Family gatherings are usually the cornerstone of Eid celebrations. The morning is full of visits as people set schedules and prioritize what houses to head to first, often with the younger generation visiting the older relatives. By noon, everybody will have returned home exhausted after a long morning of visits, ushering the calmest of times in Saudi Arabia as streets empty and people rest.

In this regard, Abdul Hakim al-Darees said his Eid preparations are all about voice and video calls and shipping services that he hopes will deliver sweets and gifts to relatives and friends without having to leave the house under curfew.

He compared celebrating Eid to a "cell center" employee, making dozens of calls in a short period of time to family and friends.

Abdul Aziz al-Ajlan, on the other hand, said he and his family have decided to celebrate Eid in a very restricted way by bringing relatives to one household without breaking the preventive measures.

While Saudis will be celebrating Eid on a very limited scale, the Ministry of Health will continue virus testing during the holiday. Security forces will also continue to patrol streets and neighborhoods to implement a total lockdown that starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday.

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Little Hope in Gaza that Arrest Warrants will Cool Israeli Onslaught

Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights
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Little Hope in Gaza that Arrest Warrants will Cool Israeli Onslaught

Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights

Gazans saw little hope on Friday that International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders would slow down the onslaught on the Palestinian territory, where medics said at least 24 people were killed in fresh Israeli military strikes.

In Gaza City in the north, an Israeli strike on a house in Shejaia killed eight people, medics said. Three others were killed in a strike near a bakery and a fisherman was killed as he set out to sea. In the central and southern areas, 12 people were killed in three separate Israeli airstrikes.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces deepened their incursion and bombardment of the northern edge of the enclave, their main offensive since early last month. The military says it aims to prevent Hamas fighters from waging attacks and regrouping there; residents say they fear the aim is to permanently depopulate a strip of territory as a buffer zone, which Israel denies.

Residents in the three besieged towns on the northern edge - Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun - said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.

An Israeli strike hit the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, one of three medical facilities barely operational in the area, injuring six medical staff, some critically, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"The strike also destroyed the hospital's main generator, and punctured the water tanks, leaving the hospital without oxygen or water, which threatens the lives of patients and staff inside the hospital," it added. It said 85 wounded people including children and women were inside, eight in the ICU.

Later on Friday, the Gaza health ministry said all hospital services across the enclave would stop within 48 hours unless fuel shipments are permitted, blaming restrictions which Israel says are designed to stop fuel being used by Hamas.

Gazans saw the ICC's decision to seek the arrest of Israeli leaders for suspected war crimes as international recognition of the enclave's plight. But those queuing for bread at a bakery in the southern city of Khan Younis were doubtful it would have any impact.

"The decision will not be implemented because America protects Israel, and it can veto anything. Israel will not be held accountable," said Saber Abu Ghali, as he waited for his turn in the crowd.

Saeed Abu Youssef, 75, said even if justice were to arrive, it would be decades late: "We have been hearing decisions for more than 76 years that have not been implemented and haven't done anything for us."

Since Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel, nearly 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, much of which has been laid to waste.

The court's prosecutors said there were reasonable grounds to believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution, and starvation as a weapon of war, as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The Hague-based court also ordered the arrest of the top Hamas commander Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif. Israel says it has already killed him, which Hamas has not confirmed.

Israel says Hamas is to blame for all harm to Gaza's civilians, for operating among them, which Hamas denies.

Israeli politicians from across the political spectrum have denounced the ICC arrest warrants as biased and based on false evidence, and Israel says the court has no jurisdiction over the war. Hamas hailed the arrest warrants as a first step towards justice.

Efforts by Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt backed by the United States to conclude a ceasefire deal have stalled. Hamas wants a deal that ends the war, while Netanyahu has vowed the war can end only once Hamas is eradicated.