A taste of Christmas in a devastated Gaza

TRUCE IS A RELIEF BUT DAILY STRUGGLES DAMPEN THE CHEER

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Young Palestinian parishioners work on church decorations.

(AP)

Attallah Tarazi recently received Christmas presents that included socks and a scarf to shield him against the Gaza winter, and he joined some fellow Palestinian Christians in a round of hymns.

"Christ is born," the group sang in Arabic. "Hallelujah."

The presents and hymns offered the 76-year-old a taste of the holiday in a devastated Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire has provided some relief, but the losses of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing struggles of displaced people are dampening many traditional festivities.

Tarazi and much of the rest of Gaza's tiny Palestinian Christian community are trying to capture some of the season's spirit despite the destruction and uncertainty that surround them. He clings to hope and the faith that he said has seen him through the war.