Among the ruins of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, tens of young couples they advance through a red carpet dressed in embroidered Palestinian dresses for women and suits with ties for men. In a surreal and joyful scene in this city devastated by two years of war, 54 couples joined on Tuesday during a collective wedding ceremony, an unusual “moment of happiness”described Karam Moussaaed, one of the newlyweds.
“We needed something to make us feel like our hearts are still alive,” he said, as sounds echoed. drumsthe festive music and the couples headed towards the wedding platform. For the ceremony, a scenery in a square between half-destroyed buildings and mounds of rubblein which they sat hundreds of spectators.
Las girlfriendsin their white dresses adorned with red ribbons, held against their chest bouquets of flowers with the colors of palestine -red, white and green-, while their husbands waved small flags. This ceremony could be organized thanks to the fragile truce agreement in force since October 10, after more than two years of a devastating offensive carried out by Israel in response to the attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
“Indescribable feeling”
“It is a very beautiful feeling, a joy that we really need after all the suffering we have suffered, the hunger, the loss of our loved ones and friends,” he said. Moussaaed. Hikmat Oussama, another boyfriend, shared this impression. “It is an indescribable feeling to be able to begin to rebuild a life after all this war, all this destruction. God willing, better days will come,” he declared.
The collective wedding ceremonynamed as “Dressed with joy”was organized by the Emirati humanitarian foundation Al-Faris Al-Shahim.
“We chose this place” to say that “once again, the population of Gaza will rise from the ruins,” Charif al Neyrab, head of the foundation, explained to AFP. “And God willing, we will restore the future and rebuild” the Palestinian territory, he added.
Since the entry into force of the truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movementachieved under strong pressure from US President Donald Trumpthe inhabitants of Gaza timidly began to rebuild their shattered lives, in a largely devastated territory still mired in a serious humanitarian crisis.
The ceasefire has generally held until now, despite several attacks by the Israeli military, which claims to target Hamas fighters. According to the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, 360 people have died since the beginning of the truce.
