Scouts marched under a clear blue sky in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the Palestinian city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.

Throughout the Gaza war that began with Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ.

But on Wednesday, celebrations were in full swing again in the occupied West Bank city, as a fragile truce held in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing the winter in makeshift tents.

At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Christmas Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica, after he called for "24 hours of peace in the whole world".

The American pontiff, who was elected by fellow cardinals in May following the death of Pope Francis, said Christmas was a feast of "faith, charity and hope" and criticised a "distorted economy" that "leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise".

Leo stuck to a very religious homily without any direct reference to current affairs.

Across the world, families began gathering to mark Christmas Eve and millions of children everywhere waited eagerly for their gifts to be delivered.

In Bethlehem, the sound........

© Al Monitor