Christians in Gaza are preparing for their first Christmas following a ceasefire in the region. 

Plans to celebrate the birth of Jesus are underway, but the priest of Gaza City’s Holy Family Church has told charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the situation is dire. 

Fr Gabriel Romanelli said: “The world should know that there are over two million people here who have nothing and need everything."

He added: “We are deciding what to organise and we have begun rehearsing choirs and dabkes – Palestinian group dances – and we may even hold a small show outside the walls of our compound, if conditions permit."

The church’s compound is home to around 450 people, some of whom are living with disabilities and could not leave Gaza City during the war. 

Fr Romanelli is hoping to visit the sick, both those in the compound and those who have returned home, to bring them small gifts. He is hoping to give chocolate “whatever the cost".

More than 12,000 families have been supported by Holy Family and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem since the start of the ceasefire. 

Fr Gabriel Romanelli has also called for prayers for the region: “We should pray a lot – for peace, and for all the inhabitants of this Holy Land, be it Gaza, Palestine or Israel.”