Apr, 2025
Anera helps families recently displaced by military activity in the West Bank mark Eid Al Fitr with gifts
This Eid Al Fitr, Anera distributed bags of holiday treats to 500 families in the Tulkarem area in the northern West Bank, bringing a moment of joy to children who have endured far too much upheaval in their young lives. Among them was 10-year-old Khatab.
Khatab and his family were displaced several months ago, one of many families affected by escalating violence and instability in the area. For him, eid this year didn’t feel like a celebration.
“My name is Khatab,” he tells us quietly.
“I’m from Nur Shams Camp in Tulkarem.
We were beaten out of our home and had to run away. They took us to a place that was abandoned. There was just one mattress on the floor. Then they left us there.”
“This eid wasn’t nice,” he says, looking down. “But I was really happy to get this gift!”
"I was really happy to get this gift!”
Today, Khatab lives in a makeshift shelter set up in a small local park in Kufor Al Labbad, Tulkarem. The area now hosts 48 displaced families – approximately 240 individuals – who are surviving through the support of kind-hearted people and humanitarian organizations like Anera. The families lack access to basic services and mainly rely on aid distributions to meet their everyday needs.
When asked what he wanted to do for Eid Al Fitr, Khatab replied with a maturity beyond his years.
“I want to make my younger siblings and children happy and buy them gifts.” He did not mention that he, too, is still a child.
“I really just want to go back to my beautiful home in my refugee camp,” he added. “I miss it so much.”
“I really just want to go back to my beautiful home in my refugee camp. I miss it so much.”
Like many displaced children, Khatab hasn’t been to school in more than a year.
“I miss my school and my friends so much,” he tells us. “I just want to go back to school. I hope they don’t destroy it. I had so much fun there.”
When asked what he would like to buy for Eid Al Fitr if he could, Khatab’s wish was simple: “New clothes.”
Through the eid gift distribution, Anera hoped to bring some joy to children like Khatab – children whose lives have been disrupted but who still hold on to hope, kindness, and dreams for a better future.
