Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 806th day.)
Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 411 Palestinians. Among the dead are at least 136 children. At least 1,115 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative.
Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 875 times in 76 days. More statistics below.
GAZA CHRISTMAS HEADLINES:
Gaza is a tiny enclave with an even tinier Christian population – still, Christmas sentiments run the gamut from grief to cheer. A tenuous ceasefire, combined with profound losses make for complicated emotions.
Gaza Will Mark Christmas With Silent Bells, Frozen Nights, and Grief
Christmas is due to arrive without lights and without warmth, burdened by the memory of a war that has not truly ended.
Gaza’s Holy Family Church marks Christmas after two-year pause amid Israeli onslaught
First Christmas in Gaza in two years: A story of hope and survival
Many worshipers are excited and happy – not just because it is Christmas, but because they are still alive.
CHRISTMAS NEWS FROM THE WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM:
Bethlehem revives Christmas celebrations for 1st time since Gaza war
For two Christmases, festivities in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, were cancelled or muted in respect for the thousands of people who lost their lives in the Israeli assault. This year, the holiday spirit has made a comeback, with Bethlehem’s iconic Christmas tree installed again in Manger Square.
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Hanania said, “This year’s celebrations carry a message of hope and resilience for our people and a message to the world that the Palestinian people love peace and life.”
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CHRISTMAS NEWS FROM ISRAEL
Inside Israel, where Christians continue to face persecution, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli media repeat the standard propaganda line, in which Israel is a force for peace and good will. The facts beg to differ.
PS Bethlehem and the Old City of Jerusalem are not in Israel.
Israel will always stand with Christians, Netanyahu claims on Christmas Eve
Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Christmas Eve message on Wednesday night, “I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from here, the Holy Land, Israel, the only country in the Middle East where the Christian community is thriving.”
That’s Netanyahu’s assertion, but it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. For example, the Christian town of Taybeh has been frequently in the news in recent months, and as the graphic below shows, attacks on Christians in Jerusalem alone are frequent (more on Christians in the Holy Land here and here and here):
“Christmas passes peacefully in the Middle East,” according to Israel’s Jerusalem Post
That’s the headline, but the reality? Here are just a few of the incidents reported between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:
Gaza: Israel killed one Palestinian and injured 12 others; some of the injured were collecting firewood. Airstrikes, artillery shelling, attack helicopters, and gunfire; in addition, on Christmas Day, members of Gaza Civil Defense retrieved the bodies of 25 Palestinians, including a female journalist, who were killed almost 2 years ago in southern Gaza; Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza has virtually shut down due to an Israel-imposed fuel shortage, despite the ceasefire agreement, causing most medical services and surgeries to be suspended.
West Bank: Israeli soldiers forcibly evicted a Palestinian family from their home in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, leaving them without proper shelter, belongings; over 100 illegal Israeli settlers entered the Al Aqsa mosque complex with police protection, undertaking provocative actions; the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry said on Christmas Day that attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers have destroyed over 8,000 olive trees in the occupied West Bank in one week, causing nearly $7 million in losses; a settler rammed an ATV into a praying Palestinian; Israeli occupation authorities barred Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh from attending the Christmas Eve midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity.
Lebanon: Three people were killed on Christmas Day in two Israeli airstrikes, marking new violations of a ceasefire agreement in place since last year; in the village of Derdghaya in southern Lebanon, the Christmas service was held in a makeshift chapel in the local priest’s residence, because their actual church is a pile of rubble.
Syria: Israeli forces attacked a group of women and children while they were collecting wild mushrooms; in another incident, Israeli soldiers stopped and searched civilians and disrupted movement; Israeli forces are also regularly detaining Syrian civilians.
In addition: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to continue military offensives in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and Yemen despite regional and international efforts to de-escalate and restore regional stability.
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Nazareth’s Christmas Parade Reminds Palestinians That Even Their Celebrations Remain Under Surveillance
The Israel Police’s message was unmistakable: Israel decides for Palestinians how and when to celebrate, and whether joy is permitted at all. Israel can empty holidays of substance, and then walk beside us once the optics are right.
MORE CHRISTMAS NEWS
Pope evokes Gazans facing harsh winter conditions in first Christmas blessing
‘The Word has pitched His fragile tent among us. How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed to weeks of rain, and wind, and cold?’ pontiff says.
Christian Leaders Must Meet the Living Palestinian Stones
Americans have pointedly ignored the plight of Christians in Palestine.
ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – YESTERDAY’S HEADLINE:
A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide (excerpts)
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – DECEMBER 25, 2025*:
- At least 72,038 Palestinians killed, 182,192 injured – including:
- At least 70,937 killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
- At least 1,101 killed in the West Bank (~229 children)
- At least 171,192 injured in Gaza
- About 11,000 injured in the West Bank
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 10,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – December 25, 2025: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 471 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 275 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 328 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).
**NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
