'No Santa Claus, only bombs': How a small group of Christians observe a sombre Christmas in Gaza

Daily phone calls from Pope Francis and prayers give courage to the last remaining Christian community in the north of the enclave

Prayers are conducted in the morning and Mass in the evening every day at Holy Family Church in Gaza. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Prayers will be the focus of Christmas this year, as parishioners rely on resilience and courage in the face of bombing and destruction surrounding the church in Gaza. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

A nativity scene to mark Christmas at the Holy Family Church. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Prayers for lasting peace in Gaza and safety for families and children are held at the church. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Fr Gabriel Romanelli, left, and Cardinal Pierbattista Piazzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, right, with parishioners. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Fr Carlos Ferrero, right, waits with priests for the daily phone call from Pope Francis. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Destruction in the areas surrounding the Holy Family Church in Gaza. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

The neighbourhood surrounding the church. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

A child adds an ornament to a Christmas tree at the Holy Family Church. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Children learn the message of hope and courage near a Christmas tree at the Holy Family Church in Gaza. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Nuns help children decorate the Christmas tree. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Christian parishioners gather around to speak to Pope Francis on the phone. The Pope calls daily to check on the safety of about 400 Christians at the Holy Family Church. Photo: Holy Family Church Gaza

Fr Carlos Ferrero, a Catholic priest, in the rubble surrounding the church. Photo: Holy Family Church

A model of baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh in a manger in one of the oldest Lutheran churches in the Palestinian territories. Photo: Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, Bethlehem

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A belief that peace will come to Gaza and the war will finally end sustains a tiny group of Christians who remain in the north despite sustained Israeli bombings and a trickle of food supplies. Christmas celebrations will stay focused on Mass, with prayers for the end of the conflict as parishioners remember family and friends who died when Israeli strikes hit church buildings they believed were safe.

All Christmas celebrations were cancelled in Palestine last year after the war began. Muted festivities indoors for children have been planned this year by about 600 Christians who shelter in two churches in Gaza, out of respect for families who have lost everything in the devastating 14-month conflict.

Among them is a father who lost three children, aged between 12 to 14 years, and 12 relatives in an October 19, 2023, Israeli air strike on the centuries-old Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza, where hundreds of Christians and Muslims were sheltering.

"We believed the church to be a safe haven that would not be targeted. I lost three children who used to pray with me and visit religious sites,” said the man, 47, who asked not to be identified. “Our loss is immense.”

He remembers previous “joyous” Christmas celebrations when his family helped to light up the church and visited friends and relatives. “The war has stripped us of all those experiences and left us with wounds and pain that time will never erase," the Gazan father said. "The holidays can never be the same, not this year, nor in any future.”

Gaza resident Ihab Ayad was in the church that day and can never forget the explosions that killed 17 people and injured dozens. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Pope Francis and the World Council of Churches condemned the attack on a "sacred compound" that had offered sanctuary to 450 people.

“I survived but both Muslims and Christians lost loved ones,” Mr Ayad said. “This war has been catastrophic for all of us in Gaza. Everyone has faced death, bombardment, destruction and loss."

Mr Ayad recalls travelling with family to Bethlehem and visiting the holy sites during the holidays before the war broke out in October 2023. But 14 months into the bombardment and ground invasion by Israel, sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, more than 45,300 Gazans are dead and 70 per cent of buildings demolished.

“This year will be limited to prayers and activities for children to provide some relief from the tragedies and harsh scenes they have witnessed during the war,” he said. “I hope by next year the war will be over, peace will prevail and everyone will be able to celebrate religious holidays without fear or terror."

Don’t forget us

The future appears bleak to Christian families who have split themselves between the Greek Orthodox and the Holy Family Catholic church located nearby to increase their chances of surviving Israeli bombing.

Ibrahim Jahshan lives with his wife and children in the Orthodox church while his brother and family have taken shelter in the Catholic church. He lost his mother, 77, due to a lack of medication to treat a stroke this year.

“The world has forgotten Gaza. We are still under attack. The children will not have a party, no Santa Claus, no gifts, only bombs,” he said. “I tell people don’t forget us in your prayers, pray for life for us. Life is very difficult. My children wanted clothes for Christmas but there is no money. How can we buy anything?”

The Christian community comprised 1,017 people before the war, according to registers kept by the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches, but many fled after church buildings were struck by sniper attacks, bombs and Israeli shelling, killing 40 members. Several more parishioners have died due to a lack of medicine to treat strokes, heart attacks, pneumonia and common infections.

About 200 Christians and Muslims now live in the Greek Orthodox Church, and about 400 Christians shelter in school buildings in the nearby Holy Family church compound.

Only answer is peace

The clergy tried to inject optimism to lift the air of despondency and despair, with small celebrations for children and candlelight readings under a decorated Christmas tree in the days leading up to Christmas on December 25.

“We want this to be a Christmas of hope,” said Father Carlos Ferrero in the Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Roman Catholic parish. “We will have a solemn Mass, it will be a quiet celebration. We raise our minds and hearts to God as he is our light and the only answer is peace.

“The reality is that people have lost hope but we cannot let hatred and resentment take over. We will continue to speak of the love of God and love of our neighbours.”

Much like the rest of Gaza reeling under food shortages and inhuman living conditions, groups of 20 share a room and mainly survive on canned food in the church compound.

A food and medicine aid package sent by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, intended to arrive in time for Christmas did not make it past Israeli checkpoints. The supplies and medicine are shared by people sheltering in both churches.

“We are surviving on flour, beans and a few tins of corned beef,” Father Ferrero said. “The supply sent by the Patriarchate had medicines, chocolates and sweets to cheer up the children but all we received was toilet paper and flour. It’s very sad not to receive even the medicines.”

Pope's daily calls give hope

In efforts to support the morale of parishioners, the head of the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis, calls the Holy Family Church daily to pray with and check in on the Christians taking refuge.

“Imagine the Pope calling every day and asking, ‘How are you?’” Father Ferrero said. “Pope Francis calls every evening, except when he is travelling. He asks us to be strong and gives us blessings.”

Parishioners gather around a speaker that broadcasts the Pope’s voice. They greet him, ask for blessings on special occasions and pray with him.

“The Pope tells us to have faith, says the whole church is praying for peace. He is always encouraging us,” Father Ferrero said.

Pope Francis has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, condemning the "cruelty" of the bombings in Gaza. Calling for weapons to be silenced and Christmas carols to resound on all war fronts in Ukraine and the Holy Land in last Sunday's prayer, he said: “And with sorrow I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty; of the children machinegunned, the bombing of schools and hospitals … So much cruelty.”

This came a day after his annual Christmas address to the Holy See on Saturday when he denounced Israeli air strikes the day before that killed at least 25 Palestinians, including seven children from the same family.

“This is not war. This is cruelty,” the Pope said in a report on Vatican News. “I want to say this because it touches my heart.”

Baby Jesus under rubble

In the West Bank, one of the oldest Lutheran churches in Palestine continues to display a powerful Christmas message of a nativity scene with an infant Jesus surrounded by rubble. The scene put together for Christmas last year has not been taken down as it continues to reflect the devastation in Gaza.

A model of baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh, the distinctively patterned Palestinian scarf, lies in a manger to capture the suffering of families in Gaza.

“Our people are still facing genocide in Gaza and so we will focus on prayer as the true meaning of Christmas,” said Rev Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. “We are sending a message of hope to our people because we believe resilience and hope go hand in hand.”

In the church built in the 19th century, a plant has been added to the nativity scene as a sign of survival. A small mirror added near the model of Jesus reflects people when they draw close to view the manger.

“The plant shows we still believe life will emerge from the rubble and this will not be our end as a people,” Rev Isaac said. “The mirrors shows our reflection as this is about our responsibility that we were not able to stop the genocide taking place. We want people this Christmas to think of what can they do to help."