The Latin patriarch, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told a small crowd on Tuesday that he had just returned from Gaza, where he “saw everything destroyed, poverty, disaster”.
“But I also saw life — they don’t give up. So you should not give up either. Never.”
At Manger Square, in the heart of the Palestinian city, a group of scouts held a parade that broke the silence.
“Our children want to play and laugh,” read a sign carried by one of them. Other banners said “We want life, not death”, and “Stop the Gaza genocide now!”
Jerusalem resident Hisham Makhoul said spending Christmas in the holy city offered an “escape” from the Israel-Hamas war, which has raged for more than 14 months in the Gaza Strip.
“What we’re going through is very difficult and we can’t completely forget about it,” said Makhoul of the plight of Palestinians in the besieged territory.
Gaza and Syria
About 1,100 Christians live in Gaza, with hundreds gathering at a church there to pray for an end to the war.
“This Christmas carries the stench of death and destruction,” said George al-Sayegh, who for weeks has sought refuge in the 12th-century Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City.
