Gazans prepare for Eid without coronavirus restrictions

Lack of precautions worries global health officials despite blockaded territory reporting zero community transmission

A Palestinian man lifts up a baby on the beach in Gaza City after coronavirus restrictions in the territory were largely eased. Reuters

Palestinians crowds the beach at sunset in Gaza, people are preparing to celebrate Eid Al Adha without coronavirus restrictions imposed elsewhere in the Middle East. Reuters

A boy opens the mouth of a goat to check its age as Gazans prepare for the traditional animal sacrifice at Eid Al Adha. Reuters

A man takes a selfie with his family on the beach in Gaza City. Reuters

Children play in a public fountain during a hot summer day in Gaza City. AFP

A worker paints frames of containers to be used for a coronavirus quarantine centre in the Gaza Strip. Reuters

A labourer carries a panel at the construction site of a field hospital for Covid-19 patients in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip. AFP

Authorities in Gaza have reported 75 infections and one death from the coronavirus at quarantine centres, but none in the general population. AFP

Children shake hands with members of Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, as they march past the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City. Reuters

Members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas take part in a simulation exercise for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in Gaza City on July 18, 2020. Reuters

Gazan security forces spray disinfectant during a simulation exercise for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in the Palestinian territory. Reuters

Palestinian security forces man a checkpoint in Gaza City as part of a mock lockdown to prepare for a possible outbreak of coronavirus the blockaded coastal territory. AFP

Security forces loyal to Hamas take part in a simulation exercise for preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Reuters

Palestinian medics take part in an exercise to simulate an outbreak of coronavirus in the Gaza Strip. AFP

A Palestinian medical worker disinfects an ambulance at a hospital in Gaza City. AFP

Gazans are thronging beaches and crowding markets filled with holiday sweets and clothes as they prepare to celebrate Eid Al Adha largely free of the coronavirus restrictions affecting the Muslim festival elsewhere.

The 360 square kilometre coastal strip has had little access to the outside world for years due to an Israeli-led blockade which many Palestinians say is like living in permanent lockdown.

No cases have been recorded in the towns and refugee camps where its two million Palestinian population live, although 75 infections and one death have occurred in quarantine centres.

Arrivals spend 21 days in the centres on orders from Hamas, the armed Islamist group that has controlled the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, but other coronavirus measures, such as restaurant and school closures and bans on large gatherings, have been lifted.

The result is that Gazans are preparing much as normal ahead of Eid, which begins at the end of July, with few people wearing masks in shopping centres that are packed after sunset.

The scenes contrast with restrictions elsewhere in the region: Saudi Arabia has capped the number of its own citizens attending the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage; Oman has implemented a nightly curfew and Iraq has said its curfew will last through the holiday.

"God protected us from the virus," said Malkeya Abdallah, 62, as she relaxed on the beach near Gaza City.

But medics are alarmed by the risks inherent in Gaza's potentially disastrous combination of poverty, densely packed refugee camps and limited hospital capacity.

"We see total relaxation within the communities, the malls, the supermarkets, wedding halls, the mosques, everything is working as normal with no precautionary measures whatsoever," said Abdelnaser Soboh, director of the World Health Organisation's Gaza office, calling for more precautions.

"The virus will eventually get [in] ... you can't isolate Gaza from the world forever."

On Saturday, Hamas's health and interior ministries staged a Covid-19 drill, cordoning off a busy area of Gaza City and halting traffic between towns.

The economic impact of the coronavirus is already being felt.

Eighty per cent of Gazans, who have seen three wars in a dozen years, already rely on humanitarian aid. Palestinians blame the border closures, which neighbouring Israel and Egypt say are needed due to security concerns.

The World Bank expects poverty in Gaza to increase from 53 per cent to 64 per cent due to decreased consumer demand led by potential cuts in public sector wages across the Palestinian Territories, and the potential for losses from the territory's earlier shutdown.

Livestock merchants say far fewer Palestinians are buying sheep to slaughter during the four-day Eid festival.

"We would have sold 500-700 sheep by this time last year ... so far, we have only sold 30-35," said Mahmoud Abu Warda, a breeder.