As Christmas lights illuminate properties all over the world, the Christian neighborhood in Gaza faces a starkly completely different actuality. For practically 700 people, there aren’t any timber to brighten, no festive glow of pleasure and celebration. As an alternative, they may spend the vacation enduring a harrowing humanitarian disaster, mourning the lack of family members amid the continuing struggle with Israel.
Each Gaza Metropolis’s Saint Porphyrius Church and Holy Household Church have change into shelters for Christians searching for refuge in the course of the ongoing struggle. Town’s third church, the Baptist Church, has been repurposed as an emergency room for the Baptist Hospital on the identical grounds.
The Christmas tree on the Nativity Church in Bethlehem was lit this yr, a practice that was paused final yr in mourning for the numerous lives misplaced in Gaza. Nevertheless, church buildings in Gaza have avoided totally embracing the festive custom.
With the struggle nonetheless raging, they deem it inappropriate to gentle an out of doors tree. As an alternative, a modest tree has been positioned discreetly contained in the church, symbolizing a extra subdued hope amid ongoing hardship.
“We’re part of this neighborhood; we are able to’t rejoice whereas persons are mourning their beloved ones round us,” stated Michel Nasrawi, a christian sheltering on the Holy Household Church.
Nasrawi stated that Christmas mass shall be held within the church, however nothing extra.
“Final yr, we discovered some toys and gave them to youngsters simply to make them really feel that there’s a Christmas, however this yr issues are tougher,” he advised Al-Monitor in a cellphone interview.
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa holds a press convention in Jerusalem on Dec. 23, 2024. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP through Getty Photos)
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led a Mass on Sunday on the Holy Household Latin Church. It was the second time Pizzaballa has been capable of go to the Gaza Strip in the course of the preventing ongoing since Oct. 7, 2023.
“You’ve gotten change into the sunshine of our church,” Pizzaballa advised the gathering in the course of the mass.
“In the end, this struggle will finish. And when it ends, we’ll rebuild all the pieces. We are going to rebuild our colleges, hospitals and houses. All the time have faith that we’ll by no means abandon you and can do all the pieces we are able to to help and help you,” he added.
Individuals attend a mass on the Holy Household Church at al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza Metropolis on Dec. 22, 2024, marking the start of the Christmas interval within the besieged Palestinian territory. (OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP through Getty Photos)
Israeli warplanes bombed Saint Porphyrius Church in October final yr, killing at the very least 18 Christians, together with youngsters. The church is taken into account one of many oldest on the planet and certainly one of Gaza’s most historical buildings.
Earlier than the struggle, roughly 1,000 Christians lived in Gaza. Because it started, lots of have left for international locations similar to Egypt, Australia and Canada.
Their present quantity is now lower than 700, in accordance with a supply from the church who defined that a few of them have international visas however had been unable to depart after the Rafah border was closed in Could of final yr, following the Israeli military’s navy floor invasion within the space.
Christian households now are sheltering contained in the church or the school rooms of the varsity connected to it. Their lives there are bleak, missing meals and fuel to cook dinner with.
Aboud Jahshan, who’s sheltering in Saint Porphyrius Church, says that many of the Christians left Gaza after they left their properties and family members.
“We at all times lived in Gaza and beloved it right here. We by no means felt we had been completely different or had any type of discrimination, and this struggle proved we aren’t any completely different. We additionally misplaced family members and felt the identical ache as everybody right here,” Jahshan stated.
Jahshan stated that a few of his family thought it could be higher to begin a brand new life away from the violence. However he refuses to depart and begin a brand new life distant from Gaza.
“My life at all times was and shall be right here. I want the struggle would finish quickly and collectively we’ll rebuild Gaza and convey life right here once more.”
