SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thousands of Muslims went to the Sacramento Unity Eid ul-Fitr event at Cal Expo, Wednesday.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. The celebration included morning prayers, family reunions, food and clothing vendors, carnival games and more.
Eid is a joyous time but it's been overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
"Every Muslim around the world deserves to celebrate Eid," said Mohammed Shahzad, who attended the event. "But there are things going on in the world. A lot of Muslims are in bad situations but we are here to pray for them."
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war started in October. Most of them are women and children.
"Eid is about bringing our community together," said Omar Altamimi with CAIR California. "But in the past six months, we've seen so much devastation across the Muslim world, sadness and hurt."
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During a news conference Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he's been "very blunt and straightforward" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden explained Netanyahu agreed to do several things related to getting more aid — both food and medicine — into Gaza and significantly reducing the civilian casualties in any action taken in the region. Biden is also pushing Hamas to agree to his administration's cease-fire and hostage release proposal.
He said, "it's now up to Hamas, they need to move on the proposal that we made. And as I said, we get these hostages home where they belong, but also bring back a six-week cease-fire that we need now."
As Muslims recognize Eid, many say their thoughts remain on the crisis in Gaza.
"As powerful as America is, they can make things happen if they want to," said Qumar Ashras, who attended the event. "We are here celebrating Eid, but our mind is not here to be honest. It is very difficult."
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