Israeli Strikes in Southern Lebanon Kill Christian Civilians Near Hezbollah Activity

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 southern Lebanon when an Israel Defense Forces drone struck, killing them instantly. The fatal attack occurred in Ain Ebel, an ancient Christian village known for its white soil and olive trees, located near the border town of Bint Jbeil.

The IDF stated 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.

On Easter Sunday, an Israeli attack on a residential building in Ain Saadeh, a predominantly Christian town east of Beirut, killed Pierre Mouawad and his wife Flavia. Mouawad served as an official in the Lebanese Forces party and was an outspoken critic of Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah militants in the strike.

Last month, the Israeli army fired an artillery shell toward Father Pierre al-Rai, the parish priest of Saint George’s Church in Qlayaa, a Maronite town neighboring Marjayoun. Al-Rai was accompanying local residents to assist a man from Qlayaa wounded by shrapnel from an Israeli shell, reportedly fired at Hezbollah fighters positioned nearby between Qlayaa and Khiam. The shell killed al-Rai.

Opposition parties to Hezbollah, including the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, blamed Hezbollah for al-Rai’s death, arguing that its fighters were present in the area and were the intended target of the Israeli strike. During the 66-day war in 2024, Israel asked residents of Qlayaa to evacuate the town. Residents refused and said they would remain.

Qlayaa, home to 850 families, is a peaceful community that does not carry arms and is not against anyone, according to Hanna Daher, the town's mayor. No single resident has left Qlayaa because of the war; those who left did so temporarily to visit a doctor, attend to a need, or travel to Beirut, and then returned.

Residents rely on stored supplies and food provisions in commercial and economic institutions, with some roads still open to secure basic needs.

Farmers make up a large proportion of Qlayaa’s residents. Their homes have been completely destroyed. Farmers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch the summer season and ready their olive groves and other crops, but crops and trees have been damaged, with immeasurable losses, particularly in the Marjayoun–Khiam plain.

On Sunday 8 March, an Israeli drone killed Sami Ghafri, a resident of Alma al-Shaab, a predominantly Christian border town. Ghafri refused to leave despite evacuation warnings issued to its inhabitants. After his killing, the remaining families in Alma al-Shaab left the village escorted by a unit of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon operating in southern Lebanon.

Pope Leo XIV mourned Father Pierre al-Rai in a recent weekly audience in the Vatican. "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.

Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai described the incident as a deep wound in the heart of the Church. " General Rodolphe Haykal, commander of the Lebanese Army, attended the funeral of Father Pierre al-Rai in Qlayaa. Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, conducted a tour of several Christian towns in the districts of Marjayoun and Hasbaya.

Metropolitan Elias Kfouri, head of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Sidon, Tyre and their dependencies, said 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.

Kfouri reaffirmed commitment to the continued presence of Christians in their border villages. Hisham Jaber, a retired Brigadier General and head of the Middle East Centre for Studies and Public Relations, said 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.