Christmas is under way for Christians following Orthodox traditions.

In Ethiopia, crowds gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ while Egypt’s Coptic Christians also went to church to mark the feast day.

Egypt borders Gaza, which has been the scene of fighting since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023.

Orthodox communities also celebrated in Lithuania and Serbia.

In Russia, the families of service personnel killed in the Ukraine conflict were remembered at a gathering attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Patriarch Kirill provided over the service at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral.

Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, held in Christian tradition to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, it was the turn of the Orthodox branches of Christianity to mark the occasion.

There had been muted celebrations in December when western Christian traditions held their festivities, with the conflict in Gaza casting a long shadow.