January 7th marks the Eastern Orthodox Christmas celebration, which is usually accompanied by festivities and parades in the city of Bethlehem. But this year, with the ongoing Israeli onslaught in the Gaza Strip which has devastated the entire coastal area, Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem say they have nothing to celebrate.
They held a somber midnight mass at the Church of Nativity, marking the occasion only with prayers for peace and an end to Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
Palestinian Christians and church leaders held a solemn midnight mass to mark Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, in the occupied West Bank.
Festive celebrations were cancelled this year due to Israel’s war on Gaza ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/q46mDRz5rZ
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 7, 2024
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, led a midnight mass at the Church of Nativity. But all celebrations and festivities were canceled by church leaders to mourn the deaths of the thousands of Palestinian civilians, including many Christians, who have been killed over the past 93 days of constant Israeli bombardment.
Among the many casualties of the Israeli bombardment was the 11th century Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza, which was bombed by Israeli forces even as Palestinian Christians sheltered inside.
Centuries-old Greek Orthodox Church (Church of Saint Porphyrius) with vivid ceiling paintings, gilded icons & stone columns DESTROYED by Israel. pic.twitter.com/kog6bB32BM
— Alex Bernard (@AlexBernar40628) December 31, 2023
Palestinian Orthodox Christians in diaspora around the world are also refusing to celebrate Christmas, to honor the over 22,000 Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in the past 93 days. An estimated 8,000 of those killed are children under age 18 – many of them infants and children under 5, buried under the rubble of their homes. 953 Israelis were killed on October 7th, 2023, in an attack by Hamas fighters from Gaza. An estimated 600 of those killed were civilians – although recent evidence has emerged that many of the Israeli civilians killed on October 7th were not killed by Hamas fighters, but by Israeli airstrikes and tank fire.
Over 100 Israeli civilians are still being held as prisoners by Hamas in Gaza, while Israeli officials have refused to negotiate for their release, and instead continue to pound civilian structures in Gaza – including schools, hospitals, mosques and churches.
