Bethlehem lights Christmas tree first time since Gaza war

Bethlehem lights Christmas tree

Christmas cheer returned to Bethlehem on Saturday as the city lit its Christmas tree for the first time since the Gaza war began more than two years ago.

According to AFP on Sunday, the decorated tree, positioned near the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, drew thousands of visitors.

Its lights were switched on after a two-hour ceremony, prompting cheers from the crowd gathered under a cloudy, moonlit sky.

It is the first major public Christmas celebration in Bethlehem since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Punch