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Scouts marched under a clear blue sky in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the Palestinian city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.Throughout the Gaza war that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, a sombre tone marked Chistmases in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ.But on Wednesday, celebrations were in full swing again in the occupied West Bank city, as a fragile truce held in the Gaza Strip where hundreds of thousands of people face the winter living in makeshift tents.In the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV was due to deliver his first Christmas Mass at 2030 GMT at Saint Peter’s Basilica, after he called for “24 hours of peace in the whole world”.The US pontiff was elected by fellow cardinals in May following the death of Pope Francis. He has a more discreet and conciliatory style than his charismatic predecessor, but Leo has followed in Francis’s footsteps on key issues like immigration and social justice.Across the world, families began gathering to mark Christmas Eve and millions of children everywhere waited eagerly for their gifts to be delivered.- ‘Full of joy’ -In Bethlehem, the sound of drums and bagpipes playing renditions of popular Christmas carols filled the air, as Christians young and old made their way down to the city’s central Manger Square.”Today is full of joy because we haven’t been able to celebrate because of the war,” said Milagros Anstas, 17, dressed in the yellow and blue uniforms of Bethlehem’s Salesian scout group.Hundreds of people took part in the parade down Bethlehem’s narrow Star Street.A dense crowd massed in Manger Square, while a handful of spectators peered from the balconies of the municipality building to get a view of the festivities below.A towering Christmas tree covered with red and gold baubles sparkled next to the Church of the Nativity. The basilica dates back to the fourth Century and was built on top of a grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago.Scout member Katiab Amaya, 18, said the renewed festivities were an important symbol of the Christian community’s presence in the region.”It gives us hope that there’s still Christians here celebrating and we are still keeping the traditions,” she told AFP.- ‘There’s still life’ -Bethlehem’s municipality chose to tone down Christmas festivities while war raged in Gaza — a Palestinian coastal territory geographically separated from the West Bank by Israel.A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which began in October has halted full-scale fighting in Gaza, but with many still facing a life of misery after losing their homes and loved ones.”These celebrations are more of hope to our people in Gaza… that they will one day celebrate and live life again,” Amaya told AFP.Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrived in Bethlehem, before leading the traditional Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity.The senior cleric visited war-battered Gaza over the weekend, leading a Christmas Mass at the Holy Family Parish in Gaza City on Sunday.- ‘Very special place’ -Bethlehem residents hope the return of Christmas festivities will breathe life back into the city and kickstart the return of visitors.For Bethlehem in particular, whose economy relies almost entirely on tourism, the war in Gaza kept visitors away for prolonged periods and sent unemployment soaring.In recent months, Christian pilgrims have slowly started to return to the holy city.”Bethlehem is a very special place,” said George Hanna, from the neighbouring town of Beit Jala.”We need to get the message to the whole world and this is the only way,” he added.”What is Christmas without celebrating?”Globally, families with the means to do so began gathering to mark Christmas Eve together, as children counted down the hours for the delivery of their presents.The Flightradar24 tracking site, among others, revived its annual tradition of posting a live Santa tracker, showing Father Christmas’s sleigh soaring through the skies from the North Pole to deliver presents.In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a more sombre message in the wake of the recent attack on a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach.”Wherever you are across our wonderful country, Christmas will feel different this year,” he said. “After the terror inflicted on Jewish Australia celebrating Hanukkah and Bondi Beach, we feel the weight of sorrow in our hearts.”

Turkish authorities found the cockpit voice recorder and black box from a private jet that crashed Wednesday killing the head of Libya’s armed forces and his four aides.The Falcon 50 aircraft requested an emergency landing because of electrical failure minutes after it took off from the Turkish capital Ankara, but contact was lost, Turkish officials said. The plane was returning to Tripoli. The wreckage was located by Turkish security personnel in the Haymana district near Ankara. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters at the crash site that the plane’s voice recorder and the flight data recorder (black box) had been recovered. “The examination and evaluation processes of these devices have been initiated,” he said. Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad and four other aides were returning to Tripoli after holding talks in Ankara with Turkish military officials. There were eight people aboard the plane including three crew members. Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah expressed “deep sadness and great sorrow” over the death of the army chief. Yerlikaya said the bodies were still at the crash site that covers approximately three square kilometres (one square mile), adding that a 22-member Libyan delegation including five relatives of the deceased had arrived in Ankara. “We pray for God’s mercy upon those who lost their lives in this tragic accident and extend our condolences to their families,” he added.A total of 408 personnel from the government’s disaster agency AFAD, police and health services are at the scene, the minister said, while the real-time imagery from the area is being relayed by drones. Turkish officials said the Ankara prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident.-‘May take months’-Tolga Tuzun Inan of Istanbul-based Bahcesehir University said a single electrical failure would not leave an aircraft completely dark. “When multiple triggering factors combine with meteorological conditions, such a situation may occur,” he told the private NTV broadcaster. He said data from the black box would reveal what happened, adding the analysis process may take several months.Haddad had been the army’s chief of general staff since August 2020 and was appointed by then-prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj.Libya is split between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Dbeibah, and commander Khalifa Haftar’s administration in the east.The North African country has been divided since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.Turkey has close ties with the UN-backed government in Tripoli, to which it provides economic and military support. But Ankara has recently also reached out to the rival administration in the east, with the head of Turkey’s intelligence agency, Ibrahim Kalin, meeting with Haftar in Benghazi in August.

Christmas lights illuminate Damascus’s Old City while government forces patrol its shadows as security fears haunt Syria’s Christian community.They recall the shooting and suicide attack in June at the Saint Elias church in the Syrian capital that killed 25 people and wounded dozens more.”People are going home early, and are afraid,” said Tala Shamoun, 26, a university student who was visiting a Christmas market with family and friends.Damascus has seen crime including robberies and kidnappings, she said, but the attack on the church “was the biggest tragedy”, she told AFP.Syria’s authorities blamed the Islamic State jihadist group, while a little-known Sunni Muslim extremist group claimed responsibility.The Islamists that ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad last year have reaffirmed their commitment to coexistence among all of Syria’s religious groups, vowing to involve everyone in the transition.But earlier this year, the country’s Alawite heartland saw sectarian massacres, while Druze-majority areas in the south were hit by major clashes.- ‘Security plan’ -Interior ministry forces searched some pedestrians or stopped people on motorbikes in the Old City.At one of the district’s main entrances, an armed member of the government security forces was holding a walkie-talkie and a map of where his personnel were deployed.”We’ve put a security plan in place that includes several districts and areas in the capital, in order to ensure the safety of all citizens,” he said on condition of anonymity.”It is the state’s duty to protect all its people, Christian and Muslim, and today we are doing our duty to protect the churches and secure people’s celebrations,” he added.Ousted ruler Assad, himself an Alawite, had long presented himself as a protector of minorities, who were the target of attacks during Syria’s war, some of which were claimed by jihadists.Syria’s Christian community is believed to have shrunk from one million in 2011, when the war began, to around 300,000 today, with many seeking refuge abroad.In the Old City, home to a small but vibrant Christian community and several important churches, red baubles hang from some trees, shopkeepers have put up Christmas decorations and street vendors peddle warm chestnuts.So-called neighbourhood committees are also providing additional security, with dozens of local Christians protecting churches in coordination with government forces.- ‘Syria deserves joy’ -Fuad Farhat, 55, from the area’s Bab Touma district, was supervising the deployment of several unarmed, black-clad Christian men with walkie-talkies in front of the churches.Many people fear that Christmas crowds could heighten security risks, but with the additional measures “they feel safer and are more comfortable going out”, he said.”We have been taking steps to protect those celebrating in the Christian neighbourhoods” to avoid any problems, in coordination with the security forces, he said.University student Loris Aasaf, 20, was soaking up the Christmas atmosphere with her friends.”Syria deserves joy and for us to be happy, and to hope for a new future,” she said.”All sects used to celebrate with us, and we hope to see this in the coming years, in order to rebuild Syria,” she added.Near the Saint Elias church which saw June’s deadly attack, government security forces cordoned off entry and exit areas with metal barriers, while heavily armed personnel were searching anyone entering.Church-goers lit up a tree decorated with stars bearing the image of those killed in June.”Christmas this year is exceptional because of the pain and sorrow we went through,” said housewife Abeer Hanna, 44.”The security measures are necessary because we are still afraid,” she said.Nearby, Hanaa Masoud lit a candle for her husband Boutros Bashara and other relatives who were among those killed in the attack.”If we go to church and get blown up, where can we find safety?” she said, choking back tears.