(24 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 24 December 2024
1. Various of worshippers attending service
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najla Tarazi, displaced in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City:
"The situation this past year was very difficult for us, and this year is also difficult because of the atmosphere of war, the martyrs, and the life that we live. We cannot express it. It’s a tragedy, but we must celebrate the coming and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ."
3. Various of clothes hanging on the fences of the upper floors of the church building used by displaced Christians as shelter
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najla Tarazi, displaced in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City:
"We hope that next year, God willing, on this day, we will celebrate in our homes and celebrate in the city of Bethlehem. We used to travel every year and celebrate there and the atmosphere was beautiful. God willing, we will celebrate in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem and the war will end. This is the most important thing for us and the most important thing we ask for at the moment, because the situation is very difficult, and we’re very unhappy."
5. Exterior of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City
STORYLINE:
Palestinian Christians gathered for mass inside the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City Tuesday night on Christmas Eve.
Several of them have found shelter in the church after being displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October of last year.
“This year has been difficult with the war and martyrs and the life that we live. We cannot express it. This is a tragedy, but we must celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ,” said Najla Tarazi, a displaced woman.
“We hope that next year, God willing, on this day, we will celebrate in our homes and celebrate in the city of Bethlehem. We used to travel every year and celebrate there, and the atmosphere was beautiful," she added.
Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, have been muted for the second year because of Israel’s nearly 15-month-old war with Hamas, which continues to drag with no end in sight, as repeated ceasefire efforts have stalled.
Christians make up a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department.
AP video produced by Wafaa Shurafa
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