Despite airstrikes and ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Christians attended Christmas mass on Tuesday (24) at the Church of the Holy Family.
The destroyed walls of the church were not decorated with lights this year.
About 1,200 Christians currently live in Gaza, and approximately three percent of them have been killed by airstrikes since October 7, according to the Palestinian government.
The Israeli army, according to the Palestinian government office in Gaza, has destroyed three churches since the start of the war.
In the West Bank and Jerusalem, Christmas celebrations were limited to hymns and prayers, without lit trees, due to Israeli attacks in the Gaza strip.
The war in Gaza was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage and taken to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas has killed more than 45,200 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced within the densely populated Gaza Strip amid shortages of food and drinking water, and much of Gaza lies in ruins.
This content was originally published in Gaza Christians celebrate Christmas amid war on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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