While the Palestinians were supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the world’s most well-known person believed to be born in Palestine, the Israeli army killed over 100 people in Gaza on Christmas Eve, according to Palestinian Health officials. The deadliest day since Israel started bombarding Gaza 11 weeks ago after Hamas attacked, killing more than 1200 people in Israel.
More than 70% of those killed were in a refugee camp, in Maghazi in the center of the besieged strip, one of the areas that was supposed to be safer, per the Israeli army’s comment.
“I have 60 people in the house, people who arrived at my house believing that the central Gaza area was safe. Now we are searching for a place to get to,” said a resident of the refugee camps, reports Reuters.
In a picture circulating on social media, one man was seen hugging his dead child. “The walls and the curtains fell on us,” he said. “I reached down to my four-year-old child, but all I found were rocks,” he added according to Reuters.
According to the Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra, many of the people killed in Maghazi were children and women.
Ceremonies scheduled in Palestinian churches in Bethlehem, territory occupied by Israel where Jesus was born, were canceled.
“If Christ were to be born today,” said the head of Lutheran Church Reverend Munther Isaac, “he would be born under the rubble and Israeli shelling. This is a powerful message we send to the world celebrating the holidays,” added the reverend, reminding that Christ was not born in the conquerors’ country but in Bethlehem in Palestine, where thousands of people are killed by the Israeli Army.
“Bethlehem is sad and broken. We are all in pain about what is happening in Gaza, feeling helpless and overwhelmed by our inability to offer anything,” said the reverend, whose declaration was reported by ALJAZEERA.
In a statement released on X, formerly known as Twitter, Pope Francis has, once again, denounced Israel’s cruelty in Gaza. “Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world. #Christmas,” wrote the Pope, who also called for the release of the Israelis held hostage by Hamas militants.
On December 22, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2720, calling, among other points, for the immediate, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.
The resolution failed to ask for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The United States has several times vetoed resolutions containing such language, arguing that a ceasefire would give Hamas time to prepare another attack against Israel.
In the meantime, the Israeli army continues to bomb Gaza.
According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 20,400 Palestinians have been killed under the complicit eyes of the world’s most powerful countries, who decide to play politics with innocent Palestinian lives.
Israel has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire until it destroys Hamas, labeled as a terror organization by the West.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 has claimed the lives of more than 1200 Israelis.
But “Hamas did not create the conflict,” according to the Palestine representative at the United Nations. “The conflict created Hamas,” he added in a speech at the UN several weeks ago.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine dates back a long time. In 1967, Israel decided to occupy several parts of Palestine, including the West Bank, which comprised Bethlehem where Jesus is believed to be born.
In 2023, the United Nations estimates that more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in Palestinian-occupied land, which includes the West Bank and Jerusalem East. This figure represents more than 10% of Israel’s total population.