‘Eid is gone for us’: War, displacement cast shadow over Eid holiday in Lebanon

2026-03-20 - 15:40

For Lebanese Muslims, there was little to celebrate on Friday during Eidul Fitr as a displacement crisis prompted by Israeli strikes and fears for the future cast a dark shadow over the end of Ramazan. Eid this year has been dampened by fallout from the war that began with the US and Israel launching strikes on Iran. With fighting going on between Hezbollah and Israel as well, Lebanon has also been dragged into the regional conflict. A displaced child from Beirut’s southern suburbs looks on from inside a van on the day worshippers attend Eid prayers to mark the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters Israel’s strikes across Lebanon’s south, east and its capital Beirut have killed more than 1,000 people and the Israeli military’s evacuation orders have forced more than a million people to flee their homes. In downtown Beirut, displaced Lebanese tried to shield themselves from bouts of heavy rain on Friday, crouching under flimsy tents just a few meters away from the grandiose Mohammad al Amin Mosque, where worshippers spent their morning praying. Ahmed Aly, a Sidon resident, prays in front of his father’s grave at a Shia cemetery, on the day of Eid, marking the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Sidon, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters Samah Hjola, a Lebanese mother of two sheltering under a tarp hung between two minivans, told Reuters her fond memories of previous Eid holidays felt like a different lifetime. “Our circumstances used to be different; (we were) at home, my children had new clothes for the Eid,” Hjola, 33, said. A man displaced from South Lebanon plays with a child as they take shelter in a Shia religious centre, on the day of Eid, marking the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Sidon, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters “There is a huge difference between being at home and being in a tent or, rather, in a bus.” ‘Eid is gone.’ Shia displaced people from South Lebanon eat a meal as they take shelter in a Shia religious centre, on the day of Eidul Fitr, marking the end of Ramasan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Sidon, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters Some displaced families had hoisted their tents atop wooden planks to lift them off the wet ground. Late on Friday morning, Israeli jets broke the sound barrier over Beirut, sending two colossal booms echoing over the city. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a question on the purpose of the manoeuvre. A man and a woman sit inside a school designated for displaced people on the first day of Eid, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Sidon, southern Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters The sounds, which can easily be mistaken for air strikes, caused panic across the city as residents thought new bombing raids had begun. In a Beirut school that had been turned into a shelter for the displaced, a musical band performed in front of dozens of children, seeking to alleviate the sombre reality of being far from home. Samah Hjola, 33, displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs, washes items on the day Muslim worshippers attend Eid prayers to mark the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters Volunteers cooked meals for the families staying there and floated balloons from the school’s upper floors onto children in the courtyard. For the adults, it was hard to shake the dark mood. Flowers lie at a Shia cemetery, on the day of Eid, marking the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Sidon, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters “There’s no Eid, you can’t mention Eid,” said Abed Nasser, a 53-year-old displaced man. “Eid is gone for us, and everything called a good life is gone. We live in sorrow for those who are gone. We live in tragedy, seeing the displaced unable to get by,” he said. Shia displaced people from South Lebanon take shelter in a Shia religious centre, on the day of Eid, marking the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Sidon, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters ‘A heaviness in people’s hearts’ Further south in the Lebanese port city of Sidon, families visited the graves of loved ones, an Eid tradition. People from southern Lebanese villages displaced by Israel’s expanding ground operations and evacuation orders told Reuters this week they were heartbroken that they would be unable to pay their respects on account of the war. Abu Ali, displaced from the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh, drinks coffee under a tent, as he opens a stand to collect donations to provide to displaced people where they shelter, on the day Muslim worshippers attend Eid prayers to mark the end of Ramasan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters Worshippers filtered quietly out of a mosque in Sidon after prayers. “Honestly, there’s a heaviness in people’s hearts. The joy is incomplete,” said Suleiman Youssef. Samah Hjola, 33, displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs, holds a dog on the day Muslim worshippers attend Eid prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters “I think people need joy, they need happiness. People want to be happy. This country needs safety and stability. We all hope the coming days will be better, and that the war will end as soon as possible.” Header image: A displaced girl from Tyre prays in front of a grave at a Shia cemetery, on the day of Eidul Fitr, marking the end of Ramazan, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in Sidon, Lebanon, March 20, 2026. — Reuters