Gaza’s tiny Christian community tries to capture the holiday spirit during the ceasefire

In the heart of Gaza, amid the rubble and uncertainty, 76-year-old Attallah Tarazi recently unwrapped Christmas presents – socks and a scarf to protect him from the winter chill. Together with a small group of Palestinian Christians, he lifted his voice in Arabic hymns, singing “Christ is born, Hallelujah.”

These simple celebrations offer a glimpse of holiday spirit in a devastated Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire has provided some relief but cannot erase the profound losses from the Israel-Hamas war. For Gaza’s tiny Christian community, the challenge this Christmas is maintaining faith while surrounded by destruction and displacement.

“I feel like our joy over Christ’s birth must surpass all the bitterness that we’ve been through,” said Tarazi, who has been sheltering for more than two years at the Holy Family Church compound. A church group including choir members has been touring among the displaced, bringing seasonal cheer. “In such a glorious moment, it’s our right to forget all that’s war, all that’s danger, all that’s bombardment.”

Yet for many, the war’s toll makes celebration nearly impossible. Shadi Abo Dowd faces his first Christmas without his mother, who was killed in July when an Israeli attack hit the same Catholic church compound where Tarazi lives. Israel later expressed regret, calling it an accident. Abo Dowd’s son was also wounded in the assault that injured the parish priest.

“Things are difficult. The wound is still there,” said Abo Dowd, an Orthodox Christian who observes Christmas on January 7. “The suffering and pain are still there. We’re still living in a state of no peace and no war.”

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, recently visited the Holy Family Parish, marking the beginning of Christmas celebrations in what he described as “a community that has lived and continues to live through dark and challenging times.”

While Israeli strikes have decreased since the October ceasefire, deadly attacks have not entirely ceased. Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the truce, and the more challenging second phase of the agreement remains unimplemented.

The conflict began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which notes that around half were women and children.

The physical devastation in Gaza is overwhelming. Recent torrential rains flooded displacement camps and collapsed already damaged buildings, further illustrating the territory’s desperate humanitarian situation. Most of Gaza’s two million residents remain displaced, with basic necessities in short supply.

Abo Dowd worries about the exodus of Christians from Gaza during the war and what it means for the community’s future. “It’s a tragedy,” he said, noting that his own children hope to study abroad. “They’re young. What will they stay to do? There’s no future.”

The absence of familiar faces makes this Christmas particularly difficult for 23-year-old Wafa Emad ElSayegh. Though he joined others to decorate Gaza’s Greek Orthodox church compound, he misses friends who have left the territory.

“We used to be together in everything,” said ElSayegh, who is staying with his family at an aunt’s home who fled during the war. “There would be celebrations, songs and an indescribable joy that we, unfortunately, haven’t felt in a long time.”

Despite the challenges, 35-year-old Elynour Amash is trying to create some normalcy for her children. “My children feel a little bit of joy, like breathing after a long period of suffocation,” she said. “They’re happy they’re celebrating without fear of a nearby explosion and because some chocolates and sweets have returned to their lives.”

While grateful her home remains standing, Amash is deeply affected by the sight of displaced people living in tents that offer little protection from cold and rain. The sounds of ongoing explosions and gunfire keep fear alive, particularly in her youngest child, who trembles at loud noises. “It’s as if the war lives inside of him,” she said. “As a mother, that pain is indescribable.”

Amash shares the concern that Christians might eventually disappear from Gaza. Yet she finds meaning in their continued presence: “Our presence, no matter how small, is a testimony of love, steadfastness and faith in this land.”

Tarazi, who lost both a sister to an Israeli airstrike early in the war and a brother who couldn’t access needed medical care, remains resolute in his determination to stay. Despite his personal losses, he continues to pray for peace and freedom for the Palestinian people.

“Our faith and our joy over Christ’s birth,” he insists, “are stronger than all circumstances.”