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"Christians at the Latin Convent Church in Gaza City attended Palm Sunday mass in the absence of celebratory customs amid ongoing war in the Middle East. Footage shows worshippers praying inside the church while holding palm and olive branches, as well as and walking in a procession around the church chanting prayers. "Unfortunately, this year in Jerusalem all the Christian communities cannot celebrate this solemnity as usual," stated Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Latin Church in Gaza. "But we pray for them, and we pray for all the people in the country and in the Holy Land, asking the Lord to give us peace and justice." Tony Al-Masri, an attendee, said that worshippers skipped customary Palm Sunday traditions in the strip, such as preparing coloured eggs and distributing flowers. "Those customs are absent this year because we are not celebrating; we are only holding prayers," he shared. "The holiday was full of joy and cheer, but not this year. We feel for our brothers in Gaza and remember the martyrs they have lost; innocent children, women, and the elderly as well as the displaced." More than 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, out of a population of around two million. Most belong to the Greek Orthodox church, while the rest are Latin Catholics. Orthodox and Catholic Christians celebrate Easter on different dates due to the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Christians celebrate Palm Sunday and the end of the Great Lent. It commemorates Jesus's entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, where people welcomed him with palm branches after his 40-day fast in the desert. The Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, 2023, following Hamas attacks that killed 1,139 people (mostly Israeli civilians) and captured over 200 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed 72,278 people and injured 172,013 at the time of publication."
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