What is Eid al-Fitr and how do Muslims celebrate the Islamic holiday?

CAIRO (AP) — Muslims around the world are bidding farewell to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and will soon start celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Eid is typically greeted with joy and excitement and is marked with congregational prayers and festivities that usually include family visits, gatherings, outings and new clothes.

For some Muslims, this year's Eid comes amid significant changes in their communities.

In Gaza, this will be the second Eid al-Fitr since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to free half of the remaining hostages as a precondition for extending the ceasefire. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza.

The resumption of war changed the fortunes of Palestinians in Gaza who had started observing Ramadan under a fragile ceasefire. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Syrians will celebrate their first Eid al-Fitr since the end of more than half a century of the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule. The country's first Ramadan since the ouster of Bashar Assad, who was the president, saw many Syrians relieved, but has also witnessed a bloody and worrisome bout of violence amid a complex transition.

In the United States, several supporters of Palestinian causes with ties to American universities have been detained in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants.

It’s an Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the month when devout Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset. Ramadan is a time for increased worship, charity, and good deeds. It also typically sees festive gatherings to break the fast.

Eid al-Fitr means the feast, or festival, of breaking the fast.

Islam follows a lunar calendar and so Ramadan and Eid cycle through the seasons. This year, the first day of Eid al-Fitr is expected to be on or around March 30; the exact date may vary among countries and Muslim communities.

Eid Mubarak, or Blessed Eid, and Happy Eid.

In Indonesia, many people embark on an exodus to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday with loved ones in a homecoming tradition known locally as “mudik.”

In recent Eid celebrations, Indonesians have packed airports or crammed into trains, ferries, buses and onto motorcycles as they poured out of major cities amid severe traffic congestion to return to their villages to celebrate the holiday with families.

Before the holiday, popular markets teem with shoppers buying clothes, shoes, cookies and sweets.

In Malaysia, Muslims also have a homecoming tradition for Eid. The first day usually begins with a morning prayer in the mosque, seeking forgiveness from family and friends, and visiting loved ones’ graves.

There’s an “open house” spirit that sees friends and families trading visits to celebrate Eid and enjoy traditional delicacies such as ketupat, rice cooked in a palm leaf pouch, and rendang, a meat dish stewed in spices and braised in coconut milk.

Older Muslims give money in green packets to children and guests who visit their homes.

In Egypt, families partake in Eid prayers amid a festive atmosphere. Many visit relatives, friends or neighbors and some travel to vacation spots. Children, usually wearing new Eid outfits, receive traditional cash gifts known as “eidiya.”

Making or buying Eid cookies dusted with powdered sugar is another fixture of marking the holiday in the country.

In the United States, where Muslims make up an ethnically and racially diverse minority, many come together for Eid prayers and for festivals featuring fun activities for children and families. These often include such things as face painting and balloon twisting.

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

People wait for a bus to take them back home towns ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday at Pondok Pinang Bus Terminal in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

An Iraqi woman buy clothes for Eid al-Fitr at the Shorjah market in central Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 27, 2025. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

An Iraqi woman shops for clothes ahead of Eid al-Fitr at the Shorjah market in central Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 27, 2025. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

People wait for the bus that will bring them to their home towns during the mass exodus out of the the capital city ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month, at Kalideres bus terminal in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

People wait for the bus that will bring them to their home towns during the mass exodus out of the the capital city ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month, at Kalideres bus terminal in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

A Pakistani browses children's clothes at a market as he shops for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr celebrations, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

The search is on for one missing U.S. service member while another was rescued after two U.S. warplanes went down in separate incidents including the first shoot-down since the Iran war began nearly five weeks ago.

The incidents occurred just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a U.S. military search-and-rescue operation was underway.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down.

The war now entering its sixth week is destabilizing economies around the world as Iran responds to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by targeting the Gulf region's energy infrastructure and tightening its grip on oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is the latest:

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a social media post Saturday that an airstrike near its Bushehr nuclear facility killed a security guard and damaged a support building.

It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant uses low-enriched uranium from Russia, along with Russian technicians, to supply about 1,000 megawatts of power for Iran.

Its pressurized-water reactor can power hundreds of thousands of homes and other businesses and industries. But it contributes only 1% to 2% of Iran’s total power needs.

Iran has been trying to expand the facility to multiple reactors. In 2019, it began a project that ultimately plans to add two additional reactors to the site, each adding another 1,000 megawatts apiece.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has discussed with Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman defensive military assistance that Italy is providing against Iranian reprisals to U.S.-Israeli attacks.

A brief statement from Meloni's office Saturday did not specify what type of assistance Italy is providing.

It also said the two discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war, the importance of opening the Strait of Hormuz and “more broadly how to promote a regional framework that can break free from the current cycle of conflict.”

Meloni will continue her visit in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. and Israeli warplanes continued to pound Iran Saturday, hitting several targets including a petrochemical facility, Iranian media reported.

Iran's official English-language newspaper Tehran Times reported that an airstrike hit a facility belonging to Iran’s Agriculture Ministry in the western city of Mehran.

The newspaper said another air raid struck Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone in the southwestern Khuzestan province.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported several explosions heard late Saturday morning in the facility.

Mehr, another semiofficial news agency, reported that the strikes hit four companies within the zone.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the veiled threat in a social media post late Friday, asking about how busy oil tanker and container ship traffic is through the strait.

The 20-mile (32-kilometer) strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and is one of the busiest chokepoints in global trade, with more than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships passing through it.

Iran has already greatly disrupted the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, sending fuel prices skyrocketing and jolting the world economy.

Disrupting transit through the Bab el-Madeb would force shipping firms to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, further hitting prices.

Israel’s rescue services said Saturday the man sustained glass shrapnel wounds after an Iranian missile hit the central city of Bnei Brak.

It wasn't clear if the glass shrapnel was caused by a direct strike or falling debris from an intercepted missile.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services said it was taking the man to the hospital.

The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said Saturday that the two men who were hanged belonged to the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.

The agency said Abul-Hassan Montazer and Vahid Bani-Amirian were convicted of “being members of a terrorist group.”

This brings to six the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.

Activists and rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that its air force struck ballistic and and anti-aircraft missile storage sites in Tehran.

It said the strikes a day earlier included weapons manufacture sites as well as military research and development facilities in the Iranian capital.

It said the strikes are part of an ongoing phase to increase damage to Iran's “core systems and foundations.”

Authorities in Dubai said the facades of two buildings were damaged by debris from intercepted drones, including one belonging to U.S. tech firm Oracle. No injuries were reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened to attack Oracle and 17 other U.S. companies after accusing them of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations in Iran.

Previous Iranian drone strikes caused damage to three Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

As of Friday, 247 of the wounded were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 19 were Marines and 36 were Air Force airmen, according to Pentagon data available online.

It is unclear if the data includes any of the service members involved in the downing of two combat aircraft reported Friday.

Most of the wounded — 200 — were also mid to senior enlisted troops, 85 were officers and 80 were junior enlisted service members.

The current death toll remains at 13 service members killed in combat.

Palestinian Muslims attend Friday prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City due to restrictions linked to the Iran war, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Tamara and her sister Amal color pictures on the floor as their parents, Sara and Ahmed, who fled their village of Khiyam in southern Lebanon due to Israeli bombardment, sit inside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Mohammad Qubaisi, 53, with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon undergoes surgery by Dr. Mohammed Ziara, left, and his team, at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - An F-15E Strike Eagle turns toward the Panamint range over Death Valley National Park, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)