Bethlehem is gearing up for a subdued Christmas, without the festive lights and customary Christmas tree towering over Manger Square, after officials in Jesus’ traditional birthplace decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war.
The Times of Israel reports the cancellation of Christmas festivities, which typically draw thousands of visitors, is a severe blow to the town’s tourism-dependent economy but Mayor Hana Haniyeh says joyous revelry is untenable at a time of immense suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
Haniyeh says the economy is crashing but if they compare it with what’s happening to their people and Gaza, it’s nothing.
The war began when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7th, killing 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians slaughtered amid brutal atrocities, and taking around 240 hostages to Gaza.
Vowing to destroy Hamas and to bring the hostages home, Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza, which has been ruled by the terror group since 2007.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has claimed that, since the start of the war, more than 18,800 people have been killed, mostly civilians. These figures cannot be independently verified and are believed to include some 7,000 Hamas terrorists, according to Israel, as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets. Another estimated 1,000 terrorists were killed in Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
[Sourec: Associated Press]
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