A bishop in Lebanon has described the fear and desperation people are living in after a wave of airstrikes struck the country's capital Beirut earlier this week.
The overnight missiles in the early hours of Monday shattered the fragile ceasefire with Israel that had held in recent months. Explosions were heard far beyond the capital, including in the Keserwan region with targeted strikes also felt in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley.
According to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) more than 30,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since the US and Israel launched military action against Iran last weekend.
Bishops in the country say they may be forced to seek international assistance to provide food, emergency kits and basic support to displaced families. It comes as Christian charities are warning of growing humanitarian pressures across the region as a result of the conflict.
In the southern port city of Saida, Melkite Greek-Catholic Bishop Elie Haddad told ACN: “Missiles are flying over our heads.”
Following months of near-daily Israeli strikes on Lebanon, tensions escalated after Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket and drone attacks on Haifa in northern Israel, effectively ending the fragile ceasefire in place since November 2024.
Melkite Bishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre told ACN that around 800 Christian families within his diocese may soon require assistance if the violence continues to escalate.
Describing the human toll of the renewed violence, he said: “People are exhausted; they fear for their children and their future; they yearn for a simple and ordinary life – that a child may go to school without fear, that an elderly person may sleep peacefully in his home, that a father and mother may work for their daily bread in dignity.
“As the shepherd of this local Church, my foremost concern is to remain close to these innocent people: to be present among them, to listen to their suffering, to pray with them, and to remind them that their dignity is safeguarded in the sight of God, and that Christian hope is not built upon balances of power but upon faith in the Lord of history, who wills peace for His people.”
Maronite Bishop Charbel Abdallah, also of Tyre, said while many residents of Tyre city are remaining in their homes for now, Christians from border villages have begun evacuating.
In the Beqaa Valley, Maronite Bishop Hanna Rahme of Baalbek-Deir El Ahmar said that Muslim and Christian families from Baalbek are seeking refuge in Deir El Ahmar.
Despite extremely limited means, Bishop Rahme insisted the Church will not abandon those in need: “They are our people; we will take care of them with what we have.”
In Zboud around 100 people have taken refuge at a school run by the Sisters of the Good Service. Their buildings have now reached full capacity. Sister Jocelyne Joumaa warned:
“We are safe for now, but certainly it will be our turn soon.”