Gaza Rooftop Celebration Turns Violent Amid Eid Celebrations

Gaza City Residents Describe Harrowing Experience During Ongoing Conflict

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, a family in Gaza City gathered on a rooftop to celebrate the holiday. Widad Al-Husari, 31, was joined by her husband, children, and extended family when an explosion shattered the evening silence. The family had been enjoying dinner and sweets before the incident occurred.

Widad rushed to the tent where her three-year-old son, Rafiq, was being held, but they fell through a hole caused by a missile that had penetrated the building. Widad’s husband and brothers managed to pull her out of the situation with her child, but not before she suffered severe injuries.

The strike killed seven people, including two children and two women, and injured 18 others. One of the injured was four-year-old Sara al-Khalout, who was thrown by the blast onto the courtyard below and is still being treated in an intensive care unit.

Sixty-year-old Zuhdia Azzam reported that a missile struck her home while she was receiving guests for Eid. Her 12-year-old granddaughter, Sidra, was killed, and another granddaughter, Sham, 11, had her leg amputated.

The family’s experiences are similar to those of thousands of others in Gaza, who have been displaced multiple times during the ongoing conflict. Widad and her family once lived in a comfortable home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City, but it was destroyed in November 2023. They now reside on the rooftop of a building rented by Widad’s brother.

The Israeli military has continued to carry out attacks on homes in Gaza, causing widespread destruction and injury. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in effect since October 2025, but about 930 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,800 injured in continued Israeli attacks during this period.

Source: Al Jazeera