With Israel bombarding Gaza on Monday and no end in sight to the conflict that Hamas claims has caused more than 20,000 deaths, Palestinians said they had “no joy” this Christmas.
The occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, which is regarded as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, practically abandoned its celebrations, as there were hardly any worshippers or tourists in the typically bustling streets.
The southern city of Khan Yunis, the epicenter of recent fighting, was reported to have seen at least 18 fatalities from Israeli strikes early on Monday, according to the Hamas-run ministry of health in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Fadi Sayegh, whose family has previously been granted permission to travel to Bethlehem for celebrations, declared he would not be celebrating Christmas this year at a local hospital.
“There is no joy. No Christmas tree, no decorations, no family dinner, no celebrations,” he said while undergoing dialysis. “I pray for this war to be over soon.”
The occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, which is regarded as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, practically abandoned its celebrations, as there were hardly any worshippers or tourists in the typically bustling streets.
The southern city of Khan Yunis, the epicenter of recent fighting, was reported to have seen at least 18 fatalities from Israeli strikes early on Monday, according to the Hamas-run ministry of health in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Fadi Sayegh, whose family has previously been granted permission to travel to Bethlehem for celebrations, declared he would not be celebrating Christmas this year at a local hospital.
“There is no joy. No Christmas tree, no decorations, no family dinner, no celebrations,” he said while undergoing dialysis. “I pray for this war to be over soon.”
Pope Francis kicked off global Christmas celebrations on Sunday with a call for peace.
“Our heart goes to Gaza, to all people in Gaza but a special attention to our Christian community in Gaza who is suffering,” the Catholic leader said.
Christmas eve strike
At least 70 people were murdered in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, just in time for Christmas.
The “toll is likely to rise,” according to health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra, because many families were believed to be in the neighborhood when the hit occurred.
In a another instance, the ministry reported that an Israeli hit on a family’s home in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza claimed the lives of ten members.
AFP was unable to independently verify either toll.
Due to an Israeli siege, large portions of Gaza are in ruins, and its 2.4 million inhabitants have suffered severe shortages of fuel, food, water, and medication, which are only occasionally relieved by the arrival of relief vehicles.
According to the UN, 80% of Gazans have been forced to evacuate their homes, with many taking refuge in makeshift tents as they wait out the winter cold.
The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, called for an end to the suffering.
“A humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is the only way forward,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “War defies logic and humanity, and prepares a future of more hatred and less peace.”
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also renewed calls for a ceasefire, saying: “The decimation of the Gaza health system is a tragedy.”
‘No choice’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the war was exacting a “very heavy price”, as the death toll of soldiers killed in the conflict continued to mount.
“But we have no choice but to keep fighting,” he said, adding: “This will be a long war.”
The Israeli ground attack started on October 27, and as of Monday, the army reported that two additional soldiers had died, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since Friday to 17.
According to Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus, soldiers in northern Gaza were on the verge of taking control, and as a result, “we focus our efforts against Hamas in southern Gaza.”
Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, according to two released prisoners and a medical professional, had endured torture. The military has refuted these allegations.
During Israel’s ground offensive, the two men were among hundreds of people arrested by Israeli forces on suspicion of having ties to Hamas.
About 20 men released from Israeli custody “have bruises and marks of blows on their bodies”, Marwan al-Hams, hospital director in the southern city of Rafah, told AFP.