Hundreds gathered at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank as the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land marked the second Christmas Midnight Mass under the shadow of the war in Gaza.

Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday.

With no Christmas tree or decorations adorning the Church of the Nativity, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, holiday cheer was absent in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday.