Gaza prepared for Ramadan under war with Israel as security tightens in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the sige of Gaza is also continuing with over 31,000 killed so far.

“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza,” says UNRWA for Palestinian refugees as Ramadan begins and calls for immediate ceasefire.

Jerusalem Old City’s security has been as strict as the Israeli police as Gaza is facing immense hunger in the holy month of Ramadan. Palestinians cannot enter Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

The head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh holds accountable Israel is foible on an immediate ceasefire deal between both parties.

31,045 Palestinians have been killed and 72,654 injured in the Israel and Gaza war since October 7.

In a Ramadan message to Muslims at home and abroad, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged on Sunday to continue to push for humanitarian aid to Gaza, a ceasefire and long-term stability for the region.

“This is our mosque and we must take care of it,” said Azzam Al-Khatib, director general of the Jerusalem Waqf, the religious foundation that oversees Al Aqsa. “We must protect the presence of Muslims at this mosque, who should be able to enter in big numbers peacefully and safely.”

For the rest of the Muslim world, Israel’s policing of Al Aqsa has long been among the most bitterly resented issues and last month, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on Palestinians to march to the mosque at the start of Ramadan.

A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to more negotiations but, as far as he knew, no dates had been set for further meetings with mediators in Cairo.

International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric discussed the humanitarian situation with Ismael Haniyëh, chair of Hamas’ political bureau, in a visit to Qatar on Sunday. She also met with Qatari officials, as part of the group’s effort to hold direct talks with all sides, the ICRC said.

“We made no preparations to welcome Ramadan because we have been fasting for five months now,” said Maha, a mother of five, who would normally have filled her home with decorations and stocked her refrigerator with supplies for the evening Iftar celebrations when people break their fast.

“There is no food, we only have some canned food and rice, most of the food items are being sold for imaginary high prices,” she said via chat app from Rafah, where she is sheltering with her family.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said in a post on X that the month of Ramadan should “bring a ceasefire for those who have suffered the most” but instead for Gazans “it comes as extreme hunger spreads, displacement continues & fear + anxiety prevail amid threats of a military operation on #Rafah”.

In the southern Gaza town of Al-Mawasi, Palestinian health officials said 13 people were killed in an Israeli military strike on a tented area where thousands of displaced people were taking shelter.

There was no immediate Israeli comment.

In the West Bank, which has seen record violence for more than two years and a further surge since the war in Gaza, the stakes are also high, with Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and other volatile towns braced for further clashes.