The atmosphere in Bethlehem is heavy with absence. Christmas celebrations have been cancelled this year and the thousands of tourists and pilgrims who would normally fill Manger Square are nowhere to be found.
“The city is empty from happiness, from joy, from kids, from Santa. There is no celebration this year,” says Madeleine, a resident of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
The famous Christmas tree, usually in the middle of the square, is not there. There are no carols or Christmas market stands.
Instead, a nativity scene, which shows a newborn Jesus surrounded by big rocks and barbed wire, has been installed as a tribute to the children of Gaza.
In an unusually empty Nativity Church, Father Eissa Thaldjiya tells me his city feels like a shadow of itself.
“I’ve been a priest in this church for 12 years. I was born in Bethlehem, and I’ve never seen it like this – even during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he says.
“We have brothers and sisters in Gaza – this is what makes it difficult to celebrate… But it’s good to be united in prayers.”
Jawdat Mikhael lives in Bethlehem, but his family is trapped in Northern Gaza. His parents, brother and dozens of other relatives have been sheltering in the Holy Family Church near Shejaiya in the east of Gaza City – an area devastated by Israeli bombardment.
As Jawdat and I are talking, a call from his father Han’na Mikhael comes through
Han’na tells his son the family is doing ok. He says he’s managed to venture out of the church for the first time in more than two weeks to try to find some food. He says that all is left around the church is rubble and that all the shops are burned. “It’s total destruction,” he says.
He wells up as he says that communications are down and that there is no water. Food is scarce, too – “enough to keep you alive – not to fill your stomach,” he says.
Han’na cries as he tells me about how different Christmas was last year.
“On days like this, we’d be decorating the church. There’d be carols. People would come over to help. But now we’re just praying to make it out of here alive.”
The family has already suffered a terrible loss.
A week ago, Jawdat’s grandmother, Naheda Khalil Anton – who was also sheltering in the church in Gaza – was shot twice in the stomach as she was on her way to the bathroom. His aunt Samar Kamal Anton rushed to help her and was shot in the head.
Jawdat shows me pictures of the immediate aftermath and the funeral
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