Nothing, not even the closure of all wedding halls in the Gaza Strip would deprive Mohammad al-Qan of the large wedding he wanted to offer his bride, Basma. Brushing aside an Interior Ministry warning on March 21 that all gatherings in mosques, bazaars and wedding halls are banned until further notice, Qan simply went on with his plans to have a large wedding at home.
Qan told Al-Monitor that the Interrior Ministry's decision to close down wedding halls and hotel meeting rooms came on the eve of his wedding, to which the couple had invited 150 people.