TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – In a cemetery complex in Gaza on Monday, December 25 2023, a line of residents Palestine touched the rows of white shrouds of at least 70 bodies. They were victims of army air strikes Israel to Maghazi in the middle of the besieged Gaza Strip.
The night before, there was the deadliest attack in the enclave in 11 weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas. One man cradled the body of a dead child and others were hysterical.
“The attack happened at 2 o’clock. The walls and curtains fell on us,” said one man. “I looked for my four-year-old child, but all I found were rocks.”
The attacks that began hours before midnight continued into Monday. Palestinian media said Israel was stepping up air and ground attacks on central Gaza and local residents said they were experiencing one of the worst nights since the war began.
Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said many of those killed in Maghazi were women and children. Eight other people were killed when Israeli planes and tanks launched airstrikes on houses and streets near al-Bureij and al-Nusseirat, health officials said.
The medic added that an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed 23 people, bringing the overnight Palestinian death toll to more than 100.
Pope Francis said in his Christmas message on Monday that children killed in war, including in Gaza, are the “little Jesuses of today” and that Israel’s offensive reaps a “terrible harvest” of innocent civilians.
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Some residents appealed on social media for the community to provide them with shelter as they became homeless after leaving their homes in Bureij.
“There are 60 people in my house, the people who come to my house believe that the central region of Gaza is safe. “Now we are looking for a place to evacuate,” said Odeh, one of the displaced residents.
The Israeli army said it was reviewing the Maghazi incident report and was committed to minimizing harm to civilians. Hamas denies Israeli accusations that it operates in densely populated areas or uses civilians as human shields.
The Palestinian Red Crescent published footage of injured residents being transported to hospital. It said Israeli warplanes bombed main roads, blocking the traffic of ambulances and emergency vehicles.
In his Christmas Day address “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world), Pope Francis also called the Oct. 7 Hamas militant attack on Israel an “abomination” and once again called for the release of around 100 hostages still being held in Gaza.
Religious leaders canceled Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank city where according to Christian tradition, Jesus was born in a stable 2,000 years ago.
Palestinian Christians hold a candlelight Christmas celebration in Bethlehem with hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza, not an ordinary celebration.
There is no big tree that is the center of Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem. Christmas statues in churches were placed amid rubble and barbed wire as a show of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
REUTERS
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2023-12-25 14:20:10
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