Christmas tree replaced with wreckage in Ramallah in solidarity with Gazans amid Israeli attacks

Local authorities in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah have replaced this year's Christmas tree with wreckage decorations in a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.

"We celebrate Christmas from Ramallah as we feel the pains of Gaza," Issa Qassisah, head of Ramallah Municipality, said in a speech.

"How can we celebrate the New Year while more than 20,000 Palestinians lost their lives and tens of thousands were injured in this war," he added.

"Christmas is a beacon of hope and optimism and hope for a better future. Palestine has lost many of its sons, elders and children," the municipal chief said.

"This year, we decided to replace the Christmas tree with a model of a ruined room," he said. "If Christ were born today, he might have been born in this room or in any of the houses that were damaged in Gaza."

Palestinian Christians have decided to limit their Christmas celebrations this year to religious rituals amid the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,424 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,036 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.