{"id":95540,"date":"2026-05-03T12:23:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T12:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/95540\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T12:23:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T12:23:32","slug":"the-christian-villages-on-the-frontline-of-israels-war-on-lebanon-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/95540\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christian villages on the frontline of Israel\u2019s war on Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article first appeared on our partner site, Independent Arabia<\/a><\/p>\n

One month ago Georges Khreish, Elie Atallah Dahrouj and Shadi Ammar were installing an internet cable on the roof of a building in their village in the south of Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The three young men were targeted by the Israel<\/a> Defense Forces (IDF) who launched a drone that killed them instantly.<\/p>\n

The fatal strike took place in Ain Ebel, an ancient Christian<\/a> village known for its white soil and olive trees located near the border town of Bint Jbeil.<\/p>\n

When approached by Independent Arabia for comment, the IDF said it \u201cstruck individuals in the Hanine area who posed a threat to IDF troops and were identified as Hezbollah operatives, while they were observed attempting to install surveillance equipment on a rooftop\u201d.<\/p>\n

This was not the first such incident in the Christian border towns of southern Lebanon<\/a>, with residents fearing there are more to come as Israel ramps up its attacks on the country, and IDF forces move deeper into Lebanese territory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A worshipper walks inside the badly damaged St. George’s Church, following a Christmas mass in the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun near the border with Israel last Christmas (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

On Easter Sunday, an Israeli attack on a residential building in the predominantly Christian town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, resulted in the death of Pierre Mouawad, an official in the Lebanese Forces party and an outspoken critic of Hezbollah, along with his wife, Flavia. The Israeli military says it was targeting Hezbollah militants.<\/p>\n

Last month, the Israeli army targeted Father Pierre al-Rai, the parish priest of Saint George\u2019s Church in Qlayaa \u2013 a Maronite town neighbouring Marjayoun \u2013 firing an artillery shell in his direction.<\/p>\n

He was accompanying a number of local residents as they attempted to assist a man from Qlayaa who had been wounded by shrapnel from an Israeli shell, reportedly fired at Hezbollah fighters positioned nearby between the town and the neighbouring municipality of Khiam.<\/p>\n

Opposition parties to Hezbollah<\/a>, most notably the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, directly blamed the group for Father al-Rai\u2019s death, arguing that its fighters were present in the area and had been the intended target of the Israeli strike.<\/p>\n

But regardless of fault, people living in the area have a clear message – we\u2019re not going anywhere.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A banner that depicts the portraits of three men killed by an Israeli airstrike hangs on the wall of a building in the southern Lebanese Christian border village of Ain Ebel (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Speaking to Independent Arabia<\/a>, Hanna Daher, the mayor of Qlayaa, said: \u201cDuring the 66-day war<\/a> in 2024, Israel previously asked us to evacuate our town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe refused and said we would remain here. We are, by nature, a peaceful community \u2013 we do not carry arms and we are not against anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor that reason, we will stay on our land, holding fast to the words of Father Pierre al-Rai, who gave his life on the altar of remaining in our land: \u2018We are staying, we are staying, we are staying\u2019. We will continue to repeat this.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if we are asked to leave our town, we will not abandon our homes, nor will we allow anyone to force us to do so. We are not fighting anyone and we are not standing against anyone; all we ask is to be left in peace and in our homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a single resident has left the town because of the war. We are 850 families in Qlayaa. Those who have left have done so only temporarily \u2013 to visit a doctor, attend to a need or travel to the capital, Beirut \u2013 and then they return.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for our supplies and food provisions, we rely on what we have stored in our commercial and economic institutions. There are still roads that remain open, and we hope they will continue to remain so in order that we might secure our basic needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daher highlighted the plight of farmers who make up a large proportion of Qlayaa\u2019s residents: \u201cFarmers\u2019 homes have been completely destroyed.<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents of the Christian Lebanese border village of Qlayaa carry the coffin of the village’s priest (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who had already planted, or had begun preparing for cultivation \u2013 having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch the summer season and ready their olive groves and other crops \u2013 have seen everything destroyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one from the town dares go to their fields in the nearby plains anymore, particularly the Marjayoun\u2013Khiam plain, because of the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir crops and trees have been damaged, and the losses are immeasurable. Despite all this, we are trying to remain in our homes. We have no other option available to us, and we will not abandon our land or our livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday 8 March, an Israeli drone killed Sami Ghafri, a resident of the predominantly Christian border town of Alma al-Shaab, after he refused to leave his village despite evacuation warnings issued to its inhabitants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This prompted the remaining families still living in the village to leave, escorted by a unit of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) operating in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Lebanese army soldier stands next to a poster of the village’s priest, Father Pierre al-Rahi during his funeral (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Moral and Papal support<\/p>\n

In a recent weekly audience in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV<\/a> mourned Father Pierre al-Rai, saying: \u201cFather Pierre was a true shepherd who always remained by his people\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as he heard that members of his parish had been injured in shelling, he ran to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that the blood he shed may be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai, in turn described what happened as a deep wound in the heart of the Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis incident once again reveals the tragedy for which the innocent are paying the price in the cycle of violence and wars we have long warned against,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In a move seen as part of efforts to support and boost the morale of Qlayaa\u2019s residents, the village neighbouring Marjayoun, the commander of the Lebanese Army, General Rodolphe Haykal, attended the funeral of Father Pierre al-Rai.<\/p>\n

The Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, also conducted a tour that included several Christian towns in the districts of Marjayoun and Hasbaya, \u201cas a message of moral support to the residents and encouragement for them to remain steadfast in their land\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Qlayaa, the papal envoy expressed his admiration <\/a>for the residents\u2019 resilience, noting that \u201cthe people here possess great courage\u201d.<\/p>\n

Displacement of Christians<\/p>\n

Metropolitan Elias Kfouri, head of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Sidon, Tyre and their dependencies, told Independent Arabia<\/a>: \u201cIsrael\u2019s continued severing of links between villages is aimed at isolating the area south of the Litani River from the rest of Lebanon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis region has become almost devoid of its inhabitants; except for a number of Christian villages whose residents have refused to leave. As a result, we are now witnessing incidents targeting the inhabitants of these towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe killing of Father Pierre al-Rai while he was carrying out a humanitarian mission shows that Israel will not limit itself to displacing the Shia population alone, but is seeking to empty the entire area, including Christian villages whose residents refuse to depart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kfouri criticised \u201cthe global silence, including from the United Nations, regarding Israel\u2019s occupation, killings, destruction, displacement and violation of our villages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe reaffirm our commitment to the continued presence of Christians in their border villages, so that Israel does not achieve its aims of turning this frontier area into a zone entirely devoid of life and inhabitants.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, retired Brigadier General Hisham Jaber, head of the Middle East Centre for Studies and Public Relations, told Independent Arabia: \u201cIsrael will not stop at displacing the Shia population from their areas, towns and villages, but will move on to displace Christians after having emptied most Shia villages of their residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are seeing, including the incidents in Alma al-Shaab, Qlayaa and most recently Ain Ebel, is intended to instil fear among Christians in these villages and push them to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translated by Dalia Mohamed; Reviewed by Tooba Khokhar<\/a> and Celine Assaf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article first appeared on our partner site, Independent Arabia One month ago Georges Khreish, Elie Atallah Dahrouj…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[30535,8099,33530,37,22070,21629,93,22177,6583,19793,96],"class_list":{"0":"post-95540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lebanon","8":"tag-ain-ebel","9":"tag-father-pierre","10":"tag-independent-arabia","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-lebanese-christian","13":"tag-lebanese-forces","14":"tag-lebanon","15":"tag-pierre-mouawad","16":"tag-qlayaa","17":"tag-residents","18":"tag-southern-lebanese"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116510628450280183","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}