A solemn Christmas for Orthodox worshippers in the Gaza Strip.<br/> <br />Dozens gather at a mass in Gaza City to mark Christmas in the Eastern Orthodox calendar.<br/> <br />But Gazan Christian Fouad Ayyad said the occasion this year was a sad one after a family member died during Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in November.<br/> <br />More than 140 Palestinians were killed in the eight days of Israeli air strikes, while five Israelis died after being struck by Gazan rockets.<br/> <br />Some 2,500 Christians reside in the coastal strip among Gaza's 1.7 million Muslims.<br/> <br />Christian-Muslim relations in Gaza are historically far less turbulent than in neighboring Egypt, where Copts complain of persecution, or in Iraq, where Christians have been targeted in deadly sectarian attacks.
