Dozens killed in Israeli airstrike on Christmas, Christians symbolically celebrate holiday

(Patria) - Pope Francis lamented the war in the Holy Land where Palestinian health officials said at least 78 people were killed in airstrikes on Christmas Eve in one of the deadliest nights in the Gaza Strip in Israel's eleven-week fight against Hamas.

Israeli strikes that began a few hours before midnight continued into Christmas Day on Monday. Local residents and Palestinian media said Israel intensified aerial and ground shelling on al-Bureij in central Gaza, Reuters reported.

At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Maghazi in central Gaza, said Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra, adding that women and children were among them.

The Israeli military said it was reviewing the report on the Maghazi incident and was committed to minimizing harm to civilians. Hamas denies Israeli accusations that it operates in densely populated areas or uses civilians as human shields.

The Palestinian Red Crescent released footage of the transport of wounded to hospitals. It said Israeli warplanes were bombing main roads between central Gaza, hindering the passage of ambulances and emergency vehicles.

Doctors said eight Palestinians were killed in a separate Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The clergy canceled celebrations in Bethlehem, the Palestinian city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank where tradition says Jesus was born in a stable 2,000 years ago.

"Tonight our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once again rejected by the futile logic of war, the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding a place in the world," said Pope Francis, presiding over Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Palestinian Christians earlier held a Christmas vigil in Bethlehem with candlelit hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza instead of the usual celebrations. There was no large tree, the usual centerpiece of Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations. Nativity figurines in churches were placed among rubble and barbed wire in solidarity with the people of Gaza.