A couple releases a lantern as people fire fireworks to mark the arrival of the New Year at a beach in Sihanoukville, the coastal capital of Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia on Jan 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

The world welcomed 2024 with a mix of celebration and somber reflection.

Sydney sparkled under a shower of silver and gold fireworks commemorating the 50th anniversary of its iconic Opera House, while the mood in Gaza remained bleak, with residents more concerned with survival. In Europe, Denmark's Queen Margrethe II announced her abdication after over half a century on the throne.

People in Gaza had little hope that 2024 will bring much relief after 12 weeks of Israel's war to eliminate Hamas. In Rafah on Gaza's border with Egypt, which has become the biggest focal point for Palestinians fleeing other parts of the enclave, people were more preoccupied on Sunday with trying to find shelter, food and water than with thinking about the New Year.

"In 2024 I wish to go back to the wreckage of my home, pitch a tent and live there," said Abu Abdullah al-Agha, a middle-aged Palestinian man whose house in Khan Younis was destroyed and who lost a young niece and nephew in an Israeli air strike.

People gather around women preparing meals by a stove outdoors at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt on Dec 31, 2023 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

In his New Year address on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed his soldiers as heroes and emphasized unity and shared determination.

French President Emmanuel Macron in a televised address ahead of New Year celebrations said 2024 would be "the year of our French pride" marked by the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games and the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral after a devastating fire.

Fireworks explode next to the Arc de Triomphe with "2024" projected, at the Avenue des Champs-Elysees during New Year celebrations in Paris, early on Jan 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

At his Sunday prayers, Pope Francis said: "I wish everyone a peaceful end of the year, and please do not forget to pray for me".

London ushered in the New Year with the bongs of its famous Big Ben bell, fireworks and a display of news highlights that featured King Charles' coronation.

Fireworks explode around the London Eye and The Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock's bell, "Big Ben", at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in central London, just after midnight on Jan 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

In New York, tens of thousands of revelers are gathered in Manhattan's Times Square to wait for the lighted ball to drop at midnight, after scheduled performances by musicians including Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J.

President Joe Biden said in an interview ahead of the ball drop that he hoped celebrants realized "we're in a better position than any country in the world to lead the world."

Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Sydney on January 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Revelers celebrate New Year's in Times Square on January 01, 2024 in New York. (PHOTO / AFP)

Fireworks explode over the city to usher in the New Year, as revellers gather around as the lit National Monument of Indonesia (MONAS) in Jakarta on Jan 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

People celebrate the start of the New Year as fireworks illuminate Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)