Gazan worshippers celebrate Orthodox Christmas
Reuters
2013-01-07
Views 22
A solemn Christmas for Orthodox worshippers in the Gaza Strip.
Dozens gather at a mass in Gaza City to mark Christmas in the Eastern Orthodox calendar.
But Gazan Christian Fouad Ayyad said the occasion this year was a sad one after a family member died during Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in November.
More than 140 Palestinians were killed in the eight days of Israeli air strikes, while five Israelis died after being struck by Gazan rockets.
Some 2,500 Christians reside in the coastal strip among Gaza's 1.7 million Muslims.
Christian-Muslim relations in Gaza are historically far less turbulent than in neighboring Egypt, where Copts complain of persecution, or in Iraq, where Christians have been targeted in deadly sectarian attacks.
Dozens gather at a mass in Gaza City to mark Christmas in the Eastern Orthodox calendar.
But Gazan Christian Fouad Ayyad said the occasion this year was a sad one after a family member died during Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in November.
More than 140 Palestinians were killed in the eight days of Israeli air strikes, while five Israelis died after being struck by Gazan rockets.
Some 2,500 Christians reside in the coastal strip among Gaza's 1.7 million Muslims.
Christian-Muslim relations in Gaza are historically far less turbulent than in neighboring Egypt, where Copts complain of persecution, or in Iraq, where Christians have been targeted in deadly sectarian attacks.
Report form
RELATED VIDEOS
