Scouts marched under a clear blue sky in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the Palestinian city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.
Throughout the Gaza war that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ.
But on Wednesday, celebrations were in full swing again in the occupied West Bank city, as a fragile truce held in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing the winter in makeshift tents.
In the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV was due to deliver his first Christmas Mass at 2030 GMT at Saint Peter’s Basilica, after he called for “24 hours of peace in the whole world”.
The American pontiff was elected by fellow cardinals in May following the death of Pope Francis.
Across the world, families began gathering to mark Christmas Eve and millions of children everywhere waited eagerly for their gifts to be delivered.
In Bethlehem, the sound of drums and bagpipes playing renditions of popular Christmas carols filled the air, as Christians young and old made their way to the city’s central Manger Square.
“Today is full of joy because we haven’t been able to celebrate because of the war,” said Milagros Anstas, 17, dressed in the yellow and blue uniform of Bethlehem’s Salesian scout group.
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