At one time in history, the tiny Christin community in Gaza Strip stood at over 2,000 people. Nowadays its members may number 600 people or even fewer.

This is the third year that the Gazan Christian community celebrates Christmas, while hope and notably peace are still not emerging in the offing. Peace has all the times been the key that opens avenues of hope in societies, as when it is engulfed with love it sets the bases for a future abounding with prosperity. With the absence of a genuine and lasting peace, hopes for an honorable life dissipate.

According to the Holy Bible, when Angel Gabriel came to Blessed Mary,  he said, “ “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God.”

This encounter has all the time heralds the installment of peace of Earth,  such a peace is still missing in the Holy Land, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace. With Advent 2025, hopes are hinged on the attainment of durable peace so as to eliminate the prevailing lugubrious living conditions.

The Christians of Gaza, the descendants of the earliest believers who kept the faith alive in the Holy Land for 2,000 years, are currently in turmoil. They are not sure what to do next and what the future holds for them.

They have demonstrated resilience amidst destruction as many were displaced seeking refuge in churches, facing severe shortages of food, medicine, and water with heart-wrenching decisions either to stay or flee.

It is hoped that the global community will help curtail their suffering by acting beyond mere words through linking them to the Holy Family, at a time when their future is inextricably linked to the end of  violence and to mapping out a strategy that ensures them a rosy future.

Their sharp dwindling number is quite alarming as it may one day augur the disappearance of Christianity in the Gaza Strip. So, amidst the Advent season 2025, will the celebrations marking the advent  of the Prince of Peace presage the advent of peace and a future abounding with goodness?