With much of Gaza in rubble, men, women and children were forced to hold the traditional Eid al-Adha prayers in the open air and with food supplies dwindling, families were having to make do with what they could scrape together for the three-day feast.

Israel intercepted a boat offering humanitarian aid to Palestine on Monday. The boat, the Madleen, was carrying activists, which included Greta Thunberg. All passengers are currently being held by the Israeli government after being redirected to the port of Ashdod in Israel.

The gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli military, operating in close proximity to troops and retreating into an Israeli military zone in the southern city of Rafah after the crowd hurled stones at them,

Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship carrying Greta Thunberg and other prominent activists, detaining those onboard, with the vessel being taken to Israel.

The activists had set out to protest Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory at risk of famine.

Now, as the presumed new Hamas commander in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad holds the fate of the hostages and, to a large extent, the entire Strip in his blood-stained hands. “He was always recognised by our people as one of the more capable commanders,” said Maj Gen Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s former national security adviser.

Israel's foreign ministry has branded it a "selfie yacht", while Thunberg says she has been "kidnapped" after Israeli forces boarded the vessel.

The starvation of Gaza can be measured in the jutting ribs of a 6-year-old girl. In the twig-like thinness of her arms. In the pounds she and those around her have lost. In the two tomatoes, two green chili peppers and single cucumber a destitute child can buy to feed his family that day.

To mark Eid al-Adha — Arabic for the Festival of Sacrifice — Muslims traditionally slaughter a sheep or cow and give away part of the meat to the poor as an act of charity. Then they have a big family meal with sweets. Children get gifts of new clothes.

Palestinians say Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution center in the Gaza Strip