First Gaza aid ship leaves Cyprus port

JERUSALEM — The sun was shining over the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City today as the first full day of Ramadan began — but with no cease-fire in sight, the war in Gaza cast a heavy shadow over the start of the holy month, with fears of tensions rising around the revered Al-Aqsa mosque.

Israeli border police patrolled the streets of the Old City’s Muslim quarter — an area that is usually bustling with people and adorned with lights, lanterns and decorations during Ramadan.

It was markedly quiet today, with no signs of celebration as small groups of worshippers made their way to Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam, for noon prayers.

For Muslims around the world, Ramadan is “the most important month for us,” shopkeeper Jamil Halwani said. But this year, he said, the usual “joy of Ramadan,” a time of fasting, prayer, service, introspection and gathering, was absent.

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