Bethlehem's main square is bereft its usual festive splendour and twinkling red, green and white lights. Usually bustling this time of year with thousands of global visitors and with Christians visiting from across the Holy Land—including Gaza—the square is now desolate. 

There are no tourists or pilgrims. The abrupt halting of access for Christians from Gaza to Bethlehem, usually facilitated annually by Israeli authorities, has exacerbated the disconnect felt by Gaza's Christians from their sacred traditions.