A parish priest of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family conducts Christmas Eve mass at a church in the Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, on Tuesday  —AFP

BETHLEHEM (West Bank)

Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza.

The cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week was nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists.

Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them.

Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, noted the shuttered shops and empty streets and expressed hope that next year would be better.

"This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad," he told hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square, where normally tens of thousands would congregate.

 Gaza City 

Pizzaballa held a special pre-Christmas Mass in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. Several Palestinian Christians told the Associated Press that they had been displaced since the war began in October of last year with barely enough food and water.

"We hope by next year on the same day we'd be able to celebrate Christmas at our homes and go to Bethlehem," said Najla Tarazi, a displaced woman who prayed for the war to end. "We don't feel happy." 

Bethlehem is an important centre in the history of Christianity, but Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million residents spread across the Holy Land, according to the US State Department.

 Syria 

Syrians come together for a rare moment of joy. In Saydnaya, Syria, a large crowd gathered near a historic monastery on Christmas Eve to witness the lighting of a towering tree adorned with glowing green lights.

The celebration offered a rare moment of joy in a city scarred by over a decade of war and its infamous prison, where tens of thousands were held. Families and friends stood by the illuminated tree - some wearing Santa hats, others watching from rooftops - while a band played festive music and fireworks lit up the sky.

"This year is different - there's happiness, victory and a new birth for Syria and a new birth for Christ," said Houssam Saadeh, one attendee. Another, Joseph Khabbaz, expressed hope for unity across all sects and religions in Syria, dismissing recent Christmas tree vandalism as "isolated incidents".