In a rare moment of collective joy amid the devastation of war, 300 couples in Gaza participated in the region's largest ever mass wedding ceremony. Held in Deir al-Balah, the event brought together couples selected from a pool of nearly 2,000 applicants.
The wedding was funded by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, part of the UAE's Operation Gallant Knight 3, a humanitarian initiative aimed at supporting Palestinians in Gaza.
One of the brides, Thekra al-Masri, described the celebration as bringing "hope for change" for displaced Gazans, who have endured months of conflict and displacement.
The wedding comes against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since last October. The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led attackers killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 72,560 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Just days before the wedding, at least eight Palestinians, including three children, were killed in two Israeli strikes, according to medics and first responders. The Israeli military said it had targeted "a terrorist" approaching troops near the Yellow Line. Hamas condemned the strikes as a "horrific massacre" and accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire agreement.