In war-struck Gaza, civilians struggle to get by

A relative guides a girl in prayer at the grave of their loved one in a cemetery in Gaza city, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 28, 2014. Monday marked the beginning of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Muslims usually start the day with dawn prayers and visiting cemeteries to pay their respects to the dead, with children getting new clothes, toys, shoes and haircuts, and families visiting each other. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) A relative guides a girl in prayer at the grave of their loved one in a cemetery in Gaza city, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 28, 2014. Monday marked the beginning of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Muslims usually start the day with dawn prayers and visiting cemeteries to pay their respects to the dead, with children getting new clothes, toys, shoes and haircuts, and families visiting each other. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

By Associated Press July 28, 2014 6 min read

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Caught in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s civilians are increasingly struggling to get by. There is no electricity 21 hours a day because power lines have been hit. Water taps have run dry because there’s no power to their fuel pumps and tens of thousands of displaced sleep on the floors of schools and hospitals.

The hardship is felt more keenly as Muslim on Monday start observing the Eid el-Fitr holiday, which is meant to be a joyous time of festive meals, shared traditional sweets and family visits. Here is a glimpse of life in wartime Gaza.

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Men kneel in prayer on blankets laid out in the courtyard of a U.N. school in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, one of dozens of emergency shelters for those who have fled the fighting.

It’s the morning of Eid el-Fitr, the three-day holiday that caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In normal times, the men would have worshipped at their neighborhood mosques.