A priest has been killed amid violence in Lebanon.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) said Fr Pierre El Rai, from the Maronite Diocese of Tyre, died while helping people affected by a bombardment in a nearby area. The charity said the exact circumstances surrounding his death are still being clarified.
According to reports from AsiaNews, the priest was killed when Israeli shelling struck the Maronite village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon. The strike came amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
Fr Pierre had been working with ACN to support pastoral work at Klayaa parish, which serves around three thousand parishioners in the region. The charity also reported that another Christian man, Sami Ghafari, aged 70, was killed during the same escalation of violence while in the garden of his home in the nearby Christian village of Aalma el Chaab.
Despite increasing insecurity in southern Lebanon, many priests, religious sisters and Christian families have chosen to remain with their communities rather than abandon their homes, land and livelihoods. ACN said Fr Pierre was known for his dedication to local communities and for faithfully serving people in a region long marked by instability.
The charity has now called on Christians around the world to pray for the priest’s family, for those affected by the violence, and for peace in Lebanon.
A UN agency reported on Monday that the escalating conflict has forced nearly 700,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon over the past week. The war between Israel and Hezbollah, which opened fire in response to the killing of Iran's supreme leader, has killed nearly 500 people in Lebanon, with the death toll rising by around 100 a day.
