GAZA CITY, PALESTINE: In Gaza City, the small but tight-knit Catholic Christian community gathered at the Holy Family Church for Christmas mass earlier this month, presided over by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
As Israel has prevented many Christians in Gaza from traveling to Bethlehem to attend midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity, they celebrated the holiday early.
“For years, I have been coming to Gaza to celebrate with the Christian community, to get close to them and support them,” Pizzaballa told Arab News.
The Patriarch spent three days in Gaza City, during which he visited the educational and medical institutions of the Latin Patriarchate.
“Not all Christians in Gaza have been granted permits, so it is necessary to share Christmas with them. I feel so warm here in Gaza,” he said.
Israel initially agreed to issue 645 permits to Palestinian Christians, submitted by the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs. The Israeli government decided earlier to grant Christians in Gaza 500 permits, not including children, to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem during Christmas.
The Israeli Gisha organization, which specializes in freedom of movement for Palestinians, said that as of Dec. 6, a total of 996 requests for permits had been submitted, of which 781 were for individuals above the age of 16. Of those, 514 were approved, in addition to 131 permits for children.
Some Christians in Gaza bemoan their inability to gather all family members in one place to celebrate Christmas due to restrictions on movement.
“Christmas is a joy for us as Christians, and an opportunity for the whole family to gather on this occasion, but the current circumstances prevent us from gathering together,” Gaza resident Sana’a Tarazi told Arab News.
“Part of the family lives in the West Bank and another part in Europe.”
Christmas trees decorate the entrance of Christian institutions and homes in Gaza, in addition to some Muslim homes. At a ceremony attended by thousands, the YMCA lit a Christmas tree in its yard as part of a series of activities for the holidays.
“The lighting of the Christmas tree spreads joy to our Christian community as well as to the general Palestinian community in Gaza,” Hati Farah, secretary general of the YMCA in Gaza, told Arab News.
“We need to celebrate and make the celebrants in Gaza feel the existence of activities that make them feel like a holiday. This is a special holiday for us as Christians, but it is a message of peace toward all religions.”
About 1,300 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, most of whom follow the Greek Orthodox Church and celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, while a small Catholic community (which numbers about 133, according to the National Catholic Reporter) celebrates Christmas according to the Western calendar.
The Rosary Sisters School, one of four Christian schools in Gaza, has been beautifully decorated for the holidays. A tree covered in lights and colorful ornaments sits in the schoolyard, and decorations and lights hang in the center of the main building and on the doors of classrooms.
“Christmas is a special occasion. We celebrate it every year and everyone here in the school, staff and students, is very happy with these decorations,” Sister Nabila Saleh, principal of the Rosary Sisters School, told Arab News.
To mark the holiday season, Santa Claus visits Christian schools and other institutions to distribute sweets.
Although the Islamist group Hamas controls Gaza, and forbids the public observance of Christmas, it has allowed private celebrations in Christian homes and institutions.
An official delegation from Hamas congratulated Christian communities in Gaza and visited the churches of the Latin Monastery and the Greek Orthodox Church.
Dec. 25 and Jan. 7 are considered official holidays in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in all public and private institutions.
Christmas trees are available in some shops, as well as decorations, which are bought by Christians and Muslims alike. “Most of my customers for Christmas decorations are Muslims,” shop owner Mahmoud Al-Hajj told Arab News.
“My children love the Christmas tree and the lights on it,” one customer told Arab News. “We are Muslims, but this time is a time of joy and I want my children to feel it as it is the case in many countries of the world.
“I have Christian friends in my workplace. We celebrate Christmas together, as well as Eid Al-Fitr, and Eid Al-Adha. We are one people.”
In Gaza, Christian and Muslim Palestinians celebrate Christmas together
https://arab.news/zq3ev
In Gaza, Christian and Muslim Palestinians celebrate Christmas together
- About 1,300 Christians, both Greek Orthodox and Latin Catholic, live in the Gaza Strip
- Early Christmas mass this year was presided over by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Arab Parliament describes Israeli assault on Gaza hospital as ‘war crime’
- Attack is latest in ‘ongoing series of atrocities’ against Palestinians, it says
- Body calls for end to ‘international silence,’ as crisis worsens
LONDON: The Arab Parliament has denounced Israel’s burning of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday as “a new war crime,” following reports that patients, injured civilians and medical staff were forced to evacuate under perilous conditions.
According to witnesses, Israeli troops stormed the hospital, setting large sections ablaze, detained its director and ordered the evacuation of hundreds to the nearby Indonesian Hospital.
The displaced individuals were left in dire conditions, lacking food, water, electricity and medical supplies, witnesses said.
The assault rendered the facility “useless,” worsening Gaza’s already severe health crisis, the Palestinian territory’s health officials said on Saturday.
In a statement on Saturday, the Arab Parliament described the incident as “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and called for those responsible to be brought before international courts.
“This crime is added to an ongoing series of atrocities by the occupation forces against Palestinian civilians,” it said.
The Arab Parliament accused Israel of systematically targeting Gaza’s already fragile health infrastructure and said the international community’s silence had emboldened these actions.
“The persistence on the total and complete destruction of the dilapidated health system in the Gaza Strip is a direct result of international silence on its crimes,” it said.
The statement urged the UN Security Council and broader international community to take action, calling for an immediate ceasefire, accountability for alleged war crimes and measures to prevent further humanitarian catastrophes in Gaza.
Babies freezing to death due to cold weather and lack of shelter in Gaza, says UNRWA chief
- Philippe Lazzarini issued stark warning about dire humanitarian situation in Gaza
LONDON: Freezing temperatures and a lack of basic supplies in Gaza are threatening lives amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the enclave, a United Nations official warned on Saturday.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, issued a stark warning about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where he said babies and infants were succumbing to the cold due to the region’s harsh winter weather and inadequate shelter.
“Meanwhile, blankets, mattresses, and other winter supplies have been stuck in the region for months waiting for approval to get into Gaza,” Lazzarini wrote on X.
He also emphasized the urgent need for the immediate provision of essential winter supplies and reiterated calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need.
The World Food Program has also highlighted the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza. The agency reported that it has only managed to deliver about a third of the food required to support the population.
“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza,” the WFP stated in a post on X. The agency echoed calls for the restoration of law and order, safe and sustained humanitarian access, and an immediate ceasefire to alleviate the suffering.
UN agencies continue to urge swift international action to address the urgent needs of Gaza’s vulnerable population.
Egypt completes trial run of new Suez Canal channel extension
- Suez Canal Authority says two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal’s two-way section
- Revenue from the waterway has plunged since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea
CAIRO: Egypt said on Saturday it had successfully tested a new 10km channel near the southern end of the Suez Canal, even as its revenue from the waterway has plunged since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal’s two-way section without incident.
Following the 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given that blocked the vital waterway for six days, Egypt accelerated plans to extend the second channel in the southern reaches of the canal and widen the existing channel.
Its revenue from the waterway, the gateway to the shortest route between Europe and Asia, has nevertheless tumbled since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Thursday that due to “regional challenges,” the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60 percent drop from 2023.
According to the Suez Canal Authority, the latest expansion extends the total length of the canal’s two-way section to 82 km from a previous 72 km. The canal is 193 km long in total.
“This expansion will boost the canal’s capacity by an additional 6 to 8 ships daily and enhance its ability to handle potential emergencies,” the Suez Canal Authority said in its statement.
Earlier this year, Egypt said that it was considering an additional expansion project separate to the 10 km channel extension.
Houthi rebels say new air raids hit northern Yemen
- Houthis say raids hit the Buhais area of Hajjah province’s Medi district
SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said new air raids hit the country’s north on Saturday, shortly after they claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel.
A Houthi military statement said the raids were carried out in the Buhais area of Hajjah province’s Medi district, blaming “US-British aggression.”
There was no immediate comment from London or Washington.
The Houthis made the same claim about a raid they said hit a park in the capital Sanaa on Friday.
Hostilities have also flared between the rebels and Israel in recent days after a series of Houthi missile attacks prompted deadly Israeli air strikes in rebel-held areas on Thursday.
Six people were killed, including four at Sanaa airport, where World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was waiting for a flight.
On Saturday, the Houthis claimed they had “successfully” targeted the Nevatim base south of Jerusalem with a ballistic missile.
The Israelis had earlier said a missile launched from Yemen was shot down.
The Houthis, part of the “axis of resistance” of Iran-allied groups, have been firing at Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Palestinians since the war in the Gaza Strip broke out last year.
Lebanon returns 70 officers and soldiers to Syria, security official says
- Many senior Syrian officials and people close to Bashar Assad have fled the country to Lebanon
Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said.
Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad’s regime was toppled on Dec 8.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organization with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon’s northern Arida crossing.
SOHR and the security official said the returnees were detained by Syria’s new ruling authorities after crossing the border.
The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are “remnants” of the Assad regime. Several of the cities and towns concerned, including in Homs and Tartous provinces, are near the porous border with Lebanon.
The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials.
Lebanese and Syrian government officials did not immediately respond to written requests for comment on the incident.
Reuters reported that they included Rifaat Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982.
Earlier this month, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally. In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mawlawi said other Syrian officials had entered Lebanon illegally and were being pursued.
