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26 Dec, 2014

Christmas in Gaza: A season without hope as fears grow of renewed conflict with Israel – The Independent

Kim Sengupta

Gaza City, Thursday 25 December 2014 -The sermons were about the sacrifice made by the Saviour, an affirmation of faith and belief in redemption, as befits a service on Christmas Day. But this is Gaza and there were also reminders of shared suffering and sorrow, the need for unity at a time of turbulence – a message reaching out to all fellow Palestinians.

Those gathered at St Thomas’s Catholic Church had gone through a bloody and brutal war in the summer. They gave thanks for their survival through the dark times and, afterwards, they spoke about the hardship inflicted by living in a state of siege.

Ever present was the feeling that the conflict will reignite soon, an apprehension reinforced by border clashes on Christmas Eve involving warplanes and tanks, which left a Hamas fighter dead and an Israeli soldier injured. It followed another exchange at the weekend in which a rocket attack on Israel was followed by air strikes in Gaza, the first since the ceasefire of four months ago.

Read the rest: Christmas in Gaza: A season without hope as fears grow that conflict with Israel will soon reignite – Middle East – World – The Independent.