This article first appeared on our partner site,Independent Arabia
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 inthe south of Lebanon.
The three young men were targeted by theIsraelDefense Forces (IDF) who launched a drone that killed them instantly.
The fatal strike took place in Ain Ebel, an ancientChristianvillage known for its white soil and olive trees located near the border town of Bint Jbeil.
When approached byIndependent Arabiafor comment, the IDF said it “struck 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”.
This was not the first such incident in the Christian border towns of southernLebanon, with residents fearing there are more to come as Israel ramps up its attacks on the country, and IDF forces movedeeper into Lebanese territory.
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.
Last month, the Israeli army targeted Father Pierre al-Rai, the parish priest of Saint George’s Church in Qlayaa – a Maronite town neighbouring Marjayoun – firing an artillery shell in his direction.
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.
Opposition parties toHezbollah, most notably the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, directly blamed the group for Father al-Rai’s death, arguing that its fighters were present in the area and had been the intended target of the Israeli strike.
But regardless of fault, people living in the area have a clear message - we’re not going anywhere.
Speaking toIndependent Arabia, Hanna Daher, the mayor of Qlayaa, said: “During the 66-daywarin 2024, Israel previously asked us to evacuate our town.
“We refused and said we would remain here. We are, by nature, a peaceful community – we do not carry arms and we are not against anyone.
“For 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: ‘We are staying, we are staying, we are staying’. We will continue to repeat this.
“Even 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.
“Not 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 – to visit a doctor, attend to a need or travel to the capital, Beirut – and then they return.
“As 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.”
Daher highlighted the plight of farmers who make up a large proportion of Qlayaa’s residents: “Farmers’ homes have been completely destroyed.
“Those who had already planted, or had begun preparing for cultivation – having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch the summer season and ready their olive groves and other crops – have seen everything destroyed.
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“No one from the town dares go to their fields in the nearby plains anymore, particularly the Marjayoun–Khiam plain, because of the war.
“Their 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.”
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 despiteevacuation warnings issued to its inhabitants.
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.
Moral and Papal support
In a recent weekly audience in the Vatican,Pope Leo XIVmourned Father Pierre al-Rai, saying: “Father Pierre was a true shepherd who always remained by his people’s side.
“As 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.”
The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai, in turn described what happened as a deep wound in the heart of the Church.
“This 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,” he added.
In a move seen as part of efforts to support and boost the morale of Qlayaa’s residents, the village neighbouring Marjayoun, the commander of the Lebanese Army, General Rodolphe Haykal, attended the funeral of Father Pierre al-Rai.
The Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, also conducted a tour that included several Christian towns in the districts of Marjayoun and Hasbaya, “as a message of moral support to the residents and encouragement for them to remain steadfast in their land”.
In Qlayaa, the papal envoyexpressed his admirationfor the residents’ resilience, noting that “the people here possess great courage”.
Displacement of Christians
Metropolitan Elias Kfouri, head of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Sidon, Tyre and their dependencies, toldIndependent Arabia: “Israel’s continued severing of links between villages is aimed at isolating the area south of the Litani River from the rest of Lebanon.
“This 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.
“The 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.”
Kfouri criticised “the global silence, including from the United Nations, regarding Israel’s occupation, killings, destruction, displacement and violation of our villages.
“We 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.”
For his part, retired Brigadier General Hisham Jaber, head of the Middle East Centre for Studies and Public Relations, toldIndependent Arabia: “Israel 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.
“What 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.”
Translated by Dalia Mohamed; Reviewed byTooba KhokharandCeline Assaf