GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The faithful walked slowly in a procession past the stone facade of Gaza’s only Catholic church on Palm Sunday, gathering to pray for peace as war raged around them.
Holy Family Church’s tranquil courtyard, filled with dozens of children and older people, belied the humanitarian crisis happening beyond its gates in Gaza City.
Inside the church, worshippers in their dress clothes lined the wooden pews decorated with palm fronds for the service marking the start of Easter week.
“Our celebration of Palm Sunday is an opportunity for hope, goodness and peace for us and for the entire world,” said a young man speaking from the pulpit.
“In order to renew our hearts and make them full of love, giving and peace,” he said, dressed in an ankle-length red robe.
Solemn-looking altar boys in the front row listened quietly, while parishioners with drawn faces after months of war filled the other rows.
The church in northern Gaza is a short drive from Al-Shifa hospital and its neighborhood, where heavy combat has raged between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters.
A recent UN-backed assessment said Gaza’s northern area would fall into famine by May unless there was urgent action.
Heavy combat has made it particularly difficult to get emergency food aid to the some 300,000 the UN estimates are still in the area.
“This year, we don’t have the heart to celebrate,” Nabila Saleh, a sister at the Holy Family church told AFP.
“It’s true that we decorated, but we don’t feel the joy of other years.”
The Gaza war was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run territory said the total death toll during almost six months of war now stood at 32,226 — most of them women and children.
Though Holy Family’s facade, courtyard and worship area inside the church are mostly intact, the site has been deeply affected by the fighting.
Christian families from Gaza have found refuge inside and in December the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem reported two Christian women were killed by Israeli fire at the church.
The Israeli army said it had “no reports of a hit on the church,” stressing it “does not target civilians, no matter their religion.”
Far from Gaza, Palestinian Christians marked Palm Sunday in Jerusalem with the fate of the people trapped by war weighing heavily upon them.
Thousands walked from Bethphage Church into the Old City, recreating Jesus’s arrival during which crowds laid palm fronds at his feet.
“It is very sad,” said worshipper Hanan Nasrallah, 62. “Hopefully God will bring peace to everybody and next year hopefully everybody will celebrate together.”
Palestinian Christians also criticized tightened movement restrictions on those in the occupied West Bank, which they said prevented many from joining on the festivities in Jerusalem.
“Many of my friends from the West Bank, they weren’t able to come,” said 30-year-old Palestinian Hanna Tams, a dancer and choreographer.
“The Israeli authorities are not giving them permission,” he said, calling it “really heartbreaking.”
“I wish people in Gaza all the best and I wish they were safe and I wish they were here with us,” he added.
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Gaza Christians ask for peace on Palm Sunday
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Gaza Christians ask for peace on Palm Sunday
- Far from Gaza, Palestinian Christians marked Palm Sunday in Jerusalem with the fate of the people trapped by war weighing heavily upon them
Yemen humanitarian crisis to worsen in 2026 amid funding cuts, says UN
- Yemen has been the focus of one of the world’s largest humanitarian operations in a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies
GENEVA: The UN warned on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is worsening and that gains made to tackle malnutrition and health would go into reverse due to funding cuts.
“The context is very concerning... We are expecting things to be much worse in 2026,” Julien Harneis, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told reporters in Geneva.
Some 21 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, an increase from 19.5 million the previous year, according to the UN The situation has been aggravated by economic collapse and disruption of essential services including health and education, and political uncertainty, Harneis said.
Funding Yemen traditionally received from Western countries was now being cut back, Herneis said, pointing to hopes for more help from Gulf countries.
The US slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors also pared back help as they pivoted to raise defense spending, triggering a funding crunch for the UN
Yemen has been the focus of one of the world’s largest humanitarian operations in a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies. The country has also been a source of heightened tensions in recent months between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“Children are dying and it’s going to get worse,” Harneis said. Food insecurity is projected to worsen across the country, with higher rates of malnutrition anticipated, he stated.
“For 10 years, the UN and humanitarian organizations were able to improve mortality and improve morbidity...this year, that’s not going to be the case.”
He said Yemen’s humanitarian crisis threatened the region with diseases like measles and polio that could cross borders.
In 2025 680 million dollars was afforded to the UN in Yemen, about 28 percent of the intended target, Harneis said.
“The context is very concerning... We are expecting things to be much worse in 2026,” Julien Harneis, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told reporters in Geneva.
Some 21 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, an increase from 19.5 million the previous year, according to the UN The situation has been aggravated by economic collapse and disruption of essential services including health and education, and political uncertainty, Harneis said.
Funding Yemen traditionally received from Western countries was now being cut back, Herneis said, pointing to hopes for more help from Gulf countries.
The US slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors also pared back help as they pivoted to raise defense spending, triggering a funding crunch for the UN
Yemen has been the focus of one of the world’s largest humanitarian operations in a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies. The country has also been a source of heightened tensions in recent months between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“Children are dying and it’s going to get worse,” Harneis said. Food insecurity is projected to worsen across the country, with higher rates of malnutrition anticipated, he stated.
“For 10 years, the UN and humanitarian organizations were able to improve mortality and improve morbidity...this year, that’s not going to be the case.”
He said Yemen’s humanitarian crisis threatened the region with diseases like measles and polio that could cross borders.
In 2025 680 million dollars was afforded to the UN in Yemen, about 28 percent of the intended target, Harneis said.
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