Pope Francis expressed sorrow over the conflict in the Holy Land as Palestinian health officials reported that airstrikes on Christmas Eve claimed the lives of at least 78 individuals in one of Gaza Strip's most fatal nights during Israel's 11-week-long battle with Hamas.
Israeli airstrikes, commencing just before midnight, persisted through Christmas Day on Monday. According to local residents and Palestinian media, Israel intensified both aerial and ground bombardments targeting al-Bureij in central Gaza.
At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Maghazi in central Gaza, health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said, adding that many were women and children.
The Israeli army said it was reviewing the report of a Maghazi incident and was committed to minimising harm to civilians. Hamas denies the Israeli charge that it operates in densely populated areas or uses civilians as human shields.
The Palestinian Red Crescent published footage of the wounded being transported to hospitals. It said Israeli warplanes were bombing main roads between central Gaza, hindering the passage of ambulances and emergency vehicles.
Medics said a separate Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed eight Palestinians.
Clergy cancelled celebrations in Bethlehem, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank city where tradition has it that Jesus was born in a stable 2,000 years ago.
"Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world," Pope Francis said, presiding at Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Palestinian Christians earlier held a Christmas vigil in Bethlehem with candle-lit hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza instead of the usual celebrations.
There was no large tree, the usual centrepiece of Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations. Nativity figurines in churches were placed amid rubble and barbed wire in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
