Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas officials spent the day visiting the homes of 35,000 families in the refugee camps of the central Gaza Strip on the occasion of the first day of the Eid celebrations, project organizers said.

"We expected no success other than making thousands of Palestinians happy," organizer Ismail Ad-Derawi said of the chocolate project.

Chocolate is one of the banned items Israel prohibits from entering the Gaza, and most of the available sweets in the Strip are smuggled in via the southern tunnel system, making it too expensive for average families.

Locals in the camps said Hamas officials distributed the chocolate to all families regardless of political affiliation.

Officials declined to comment on the total volume of chocolate distributed.