Cardinal Pizzaballa: Messages of Resilience and Hope Echo from Gaza Strip on Christmas Day

JAKARTA - The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said that the message of resilience and hope echoed from the Gaza Strip on Christmas even though the area was devastated by the Israeli Zionist aggression for two years.

"Today, our hearts are with Gaza, which is devastated," Pizzaballa said upon arriving in Bethlehem, West Bank, to attend the Christmas Eve Mass.

"Despite everything that has happened, the people still have the spirit of life, the spirit of joy, and the unwillingness to give up," said the Patriarch.

Pizzaballa believes that the people of Gaza, as the people of Bethlehem, will rebuild their lives despite the destruction.

"We will celebrate in Gaza and Bethlehem. We will continue to celebrate every day and come back to rebuild from the beginning," he said.

More than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and another 171,000 injured by the Israeli aggression since October 2023, which destroyed the Gaza Strip.

The Zionist forces and illegal settlers also killed at least 1,103 Palestinians and injured nearly 11,000 others in the West Bank at the same time.

Gaza, like Bethlehem, "brings a message of steadfastness and hope", Pizzaballa said, stressing that faith in life and peace is much stronger than destruction.

"Today is a true Christmas in Bethlehem, and the message of Bethlehem and the Holy Land is spreading throughout the world," said Cardinal Pizzaballa.

On Wednesday, Israeli authorities barred Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh from attending a Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, is a major pilgrimage and tourism destination for Christians every December for Christmas celebrations.

Christians often crowd the Church of the Nativity, which was built on a cave believed by Christians to be the place where Mary gave birth to Jesus.