Gaza Christians celebrate Palm Sunday for first time since war

Christians attend the service organized in Holy Family Church to celebrate the feast of ‘Palm Sunday’, one of the most important holidays of the Christian world, known as the memory of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on March 29, 2026 in Gaza City, Palestine. [Anas Zeyad Fteha – Anadolu Agency]

Christians in the Gaza Strip marked Palm Sunday yesterday for the first time since the Israeli war began on 7^th October 2023, now in its second year.

In a spiritual and celebratory atmosphere, dozens gathered at the Holy Family Church, part of the Latin Patriarchate, in Gaza City’s Old Town. They took part in Palm Sunday prayers led by Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest in Gaza, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

Palm Sunday is the seventh Sunday of Lent and the last before Good Friday, which is followed by Easter Sunday.

The occasion commemorates Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, when people welcomed him with palm branches as a sign of joy, according to Christian belief.

During the two years of war, Christians were unable to celebrate the feast due to Israeli attacks. Observances were limited to modest church decorations and small-scale rituals.

Worshippers expressed hope that the occasion would pass in safety and peace, and that calm and stability would return to the territory after two years of conflict.

READ: Hamas says blocking Palm Sunday Mass in Jerusalem is a “dangerous precedent”

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