For the first time in two months, Gazans were allowed to experience the joy of praying in a mosque after authorities announced that mosques would be reopened for the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan.
The enclave’s coronavirus committee and Ministry of Religious Affairs took the decision almost two months after mosques were completely closed to combat the potential spread of the virus in the territory that holds two million people and remains locked under an Israeli economic siege.
The decision to reopen mosques finally came as the committee said people will be allowed to attend both Friday prayers and Eid Al Fitr prayer at mosques, but with certain protective measures introduced by the Gaza Health Ministry to ensure public safety.
Authorities in the Hamas-ruled strip stressed that residents who have health problems or chronic diseases, elderly people, children or people who have just finished their self-isolation after returning to the Gaza Strip from abroad, should stay at home.
The instructions include maintaining social distance, wearing protective masks, and using hand sanitiser, in addition to bringing their own prayer rugs to the mosque.
The instructions provided by the authorities were not exclusive to worshippers, but also the Imams, whose speeches were not allowed to exceed 10 minutes, and the sermons and speeches all focused on reminding people of the need to pray to God to help them through this crisis and lift the epidemic.
The government’s directives to combat the potential spread of the coronavirus have made it difficult for Gaza residents to feel the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.
Although Gazans are missing out on their routine activities in such times, they seem to understand the necessity of taking all precautions as the scarcity of medical supplies in the enclave leaves them no choice but to try to stay healthy in a place where being sick is very much unaffordable.
Israel’s 14-year-old blockade on Gaza, has significantly undermined its health sector. The health system has already been shaky for years and it certainly cannot take on the burden of a large number of cases.
A recent spike in new coronavirus cases within quarantine facilities has seen the number of infections rise from no more than 20 to 55, with 25 cases announced on Thursday alone. It comes after around 1,500 Palestinians who were stuck in Egypt were allowed to return to the territory through the Rafah crossing.
But, despite the increase, authorities in the Gaza Strip refused to change their decision to reopen mosques.
“The ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs assures that the decision to open mosques for Friday prayers are still in effect,” it said in a statement.
The announcement has created fear and anger among residents as only a few hundreds of people were willing to take the risk of praying at mosques.
The timing of this decision has provoked people to accuse the government of not being wise enough.
Health officials and many residents now consider the detection of these cases a serious indication of a potential outbreak of the virus in Gaza. The quarantine centres still have hundreds of tests to be conducted and poor capacity to carry out such examinations; a fact that may have caused a collective sense of fear of the fallout that awaits the ill-equipped Gazan enclave.
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
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