Early this month, the main square and streets around Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity were bustling with tourists.
Now they are empty after a devastating attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7.
Across Israel and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, hotels have emptied and at least six companies have stopped trips to top destinations like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as the conflict escalated. Two tour operators have called off trips until next year.says it has cancelled all packages to Tel Aviv due to depart before Oct. 22, while Virgin Atlantic Holidays has let holidaymakers rebook for later dates or get a refund if they're travelling before Oct. 18.
"We rely on tourism for living. We had the COVID crisis and we were still recovering and slowly waiting for the tourists to come back," said Khader Hussein, 30, a souvenir seller in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.Drawn by historical sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and Tel Aviv's white sandy beaches, some three million tourists flocked to Israel in the first nine months of this year, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.
Australian tour operator Intrepid Travel has called off tours to Israel and Palestinian territories until the end of the year.
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