Bethlehem marks first festive Christmas celebration since the Gaza war
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Scouts marched under a clear blue sky and bagpipes sent familiar carols ricocheting off stone alleys, as Bethlehem stepped out from the shadow of the Gaza war to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.
For two consecutive holiday seasons, the biblical birthplace of Jesus scaled back gatherings amid the war that began after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. This year, with a fragile truce holding in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank city restored the sights and…