Associated Press
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Christian faithful attended Palm Sunday celebrations at Jerusalem’s sacred Mount of Olives, marking the first day of Holy Week as conflict surges across the region.
Pilgrims waved branches and fronds in the air, items that were placed before Jesus’ feet as he was greeted by cheering crowds during his entrance into Jerusalem, according to the Bible. Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — revered as the site of Jesus’s crucifixion — also held a service.
The annual celebration came as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in Gaza. However, the conflict appeared to have had little effect on the procession, which swelled to a similar size as last year.
“Although there is war, in my impression I don’t feel any kind of tension,” said David Manini, a pilgrim from Italy.
Roman Catholic clergymen carry palm fronds Sunday during the Palm Sunday procession at Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City.
Ohad Zwigenberg, Associated Press
The celebration marks the beginning of the most somber week in the Christian calendar, which marks Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter.
“I’m here because I love Jesus Christ,” said Jennifer Weedon, who traveled form the United States for the occasion.
Since the war erupted, Israel has seen a huge downturn in tourism. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants from Gaza invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Israel has responded with an air and ground war that has left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
One of the placards held by a pilgrim read, “Save us lord. The Church of Saint Porphyrius and Holy Family Church, Gaza.”
In late October, Palestinian health officials said that an Israeli strike hit St. Porphyrios, a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, killing 18 people.
Read more:
Muslims around world observe holy month of Ramadan
Members of the Muslim community gather Sunday, March 10, 2024, for the Taraweeh prayer during a month of Ramadan at New York's Times Square. Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan, with worship, charity, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and begins with the sighting of the crescent moon.
Yuki Iwamura, Associated Press
Muslim worshippers perform a night prayer called 'Tarawih' on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Monday, March 11, 2024, at Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and begins with the sighting of the crescent moon. For many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, fasting began Monday, after an announcement from officials in Saudi Arabia, which is home to the holiest places in Islam. Muslim communities may start Ramadan on different days , due to declarations by multiple Islamic authorities around the globe on whether the crescent has been sighted or different methodologies used to determine the start of the month.
Khalil Hamra, Associated Press
Indonesian Muslims attend an evening prayer called 'tarawih' Monday, March 11, 2024, to mark the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia.
During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual intercourse from sunrise until sunset. Even a tiny sip of water or a puff of smoke is enough to invalidate the fast. At night, family and friends gather and feast in a festive atmosphere.
The fasting is aimed at bringing the faithful closer to God and reminding them of the suffering of the poor. Muslims are expected to strictly observe daily prayers and engage in heightened religious contemplation. They are also urged to refrain from gossip, fighting or cursing during the holy month.
Dita Alangkara, Associated Press
Lights installed between the minarets of the Suleymaniye mosque reads in Turkish "Ramadan is the month of Quran" ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk, began at sunrise Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in much of Asia, a day after many Muslims in the Middle East began their fasts .
In the Muslim lunar calendar, months begin only when the new moon is sighted, which can lead to variations of a day or two.
Middle Eastern nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates declared the month would begin early Monday, March 11, but in the Asia-Pacific countries including Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore began Ramadan on Tuesday after failing to see the crescent moon the previous night. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh also began Ramadan on Tuesday, as did Iran and Jordan.
Emrah Gurel, Associated Press
Muslims eat during Iftar, the sunset meal when Muslims break their fast in the holy month of Ramadan, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In Malaysia, mosques began preparing bubur lambuk, a hearty traditional porridge dish made with meat and spices that is distributed for free to the public during Ramadan. But at the same time, critics urged people to keep their iftars to a reasonable size.
The Consumers’ Association of Penang said that food waste increases by up to 20% during Ramadan. Some 90,000 tonnes of food were reportedly thrown out across the country during Ramadan last year, it said.
“Ramadan is supposed to be a month of intense devotion for Muslims but for some, it has become a month of feasting and wasteful spending,” the association’s president Mohideen Abdul Kader said.
Vincent Thian, Associated Press
A Palestinian boy plays with fireworks Sunday, March 10, 2024, as he celebrates the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan next to a destroyed residential building by the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip. In Rafah in southern Gaza, Palestinians buy food for a pre-dawn meal. Ramadan this year comes as the Middle East remains inflamed by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and many in the enclave are going hungry. Even where food is available, there is little beyond canned goods, and prices are high.
Fatima Shbair, Associated Press
Muslims perform a special prayer called 'Tarawih' at Data Darbar mosque Monday, March 11, 2024, on the start of Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Lahore, Pakistan.
K.M. Chaudary, Associated Press
Students perform a prayer Tuesday, March 12, 2024, during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic Boarding School in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
In Indonesia, where 90% of the population of 277 million practice Islam, celebrations ranged from colorful torchlight parades, to cleaning family graves, to preparing food for pre-dawn breakfasts and elaborate post-sundown meals known as "iftars." Each region in the archipelago nation has its own way to mark the start of Ramadan.
The government set the start of the holiday for Tuesday, March 12, 2024, after teams from more than 100 regions failed to sight the new moon Sunday. Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas announced the timing late Sunday evening.
Mosques flooded with devotees offering the evening prayers known as “tarawih” on Monday night. In Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, tens of thousands of worshippers crammed together shoulder-to-shoulder.
It's also an exciting time for business. Hotels, restaurants and cafes all prepare special Ramadan promotions, shoppers to flock shopping centers for new clothes and home decorations for the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
Binsar Bakkara, Associated Press
Volunteer arrange food plates to be distributed among people for breaking their fast Tuesday, March 12, 2024, during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Lahore, Pakistan.
K.M. Chaudary, Associated Press
A Nepalese Muslim recites Quran on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at the Jame Mosque on the first day of holy month of Ramadan in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Niranjan Shrestha, Associated Press
Muslim worshippers perform "tarawih," an extra lengthy prayer held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Rafah, Gaza Strip. In Rafah in southern Gaza, Palestinians buy food for a pre-dawn meal. Ramadan this year comes as the Middle East remains inflamed by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and many in the enclave are going hungry. Even where food is available, there is little beyond canned goods, and prices are high.
Fatima Shbair, Associated Press
Palestinians buy food for a pre-dawn meal before fasting Sunday, March 10, 2024, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
Fatima Shbair, Associated Press
Volunteers distribute food for those breaking their fast Tuesday, March 12, 2024, during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Memon mosque in Karachi, Pakistan.
Fareed Khan, Associated Press
Myanmar Muslim men join evening prayer before their fast-breaking during the first day of Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan at Nwe Aye Mosque in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Thein Zaw, Associated Press
A "Happy Ramadan" sign is illuminated on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, in a pedestrian zone in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, March 10, 2024.
Michael Probst, Associated Press
Indonesian Muslims attend an evening prayer called 'tarawih' marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, March 11, 2024.
Dita Alangkara, Associated Press
Muslims offer prayer inside a Mosque on the first day of Ramadan, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk, began at sunrise Tuesday in much of Asia.
Mukhtar Khan, Associated Press
A Muslim reads the Quran while they fast during the first day of Ramadan at the Niujie Mosque in Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Tatan Syuflana, Associated Press
A Muslim woman reads Quran during an evening prayer called 'tarawih' marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, March 11, 2024.
Dita Alangkara, Associated Press
People wait to break their fast during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan, at a free meal distribution point in Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Muhammad Sajjad, Associated Press
Volunteers distribute food among people for breaking their fast during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan, at a free meal distribution point, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Anjum Naveed, Associated Press
A Muslim worshipper reads the Quran, Islam's holiest book, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Francisco Seco, Associated Press
Indonesian Muslims attend an evening prayer called 'tarawih' marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, March 11, 2024.
Dita Alangkara, Associated Press
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!