As missiles fly overhead, Christians in Lebanon are ‘exhausted’, says bishop

Almost 30,000 people have been forced from their homes in Lebanon after a series of overnight missile attacks struck Beirut on 2 March, bringing an end to the delicate ceasefire that had been in place since late 2024.

Explosions were reported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) charity staff across the Lebanese capital within the early hours of Monday morning, with over 10 strikes targeting the southern outskirts of town at about 2.30am local time.

The blasts were heard as distant because the Keserwan region, while additional strikes were reported in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley.

According to ACN, warnings were issued to roughly 50 villages, forcing 1000’s of families to flee by road.

Major routes out of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs soon became heavily congested, leaving families stranded in traffic for hours.

Speaking to ACN from the southern port city of Saida, Melkite Greek-Catholic Bishop Elie Haddad described the intensity of the situation: “Missiles are flying over our heads.”

Although Saida itself was in a roundabout way hit, public buildings have been became temporary shelters. State schools have hosted families fleeing the violence, while parish centres are also receiving displaced people.

The renewed violence follows a dramatic escalation in the broader region after US-Israeli strikes on the weekend killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, together with various senior Iranian officials.

The development has further destabilised the region after months of just about each day Israeli strikes on Lebanon, and up to date rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel claimed by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Church leaders across Lebanon say the humanitarian pressure is already growing.

Melkite Bishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre warned that about 800 Christian families in his diocese could soon need support if the violence persists.

“People are exhausted,” he said to ACN. “They fear for his or her children and their future; they yearn for a straightforward and extraordinary life.”

He added: “As the shepherd of this local Church, my foremost concern is to stay close to those innocent people: to be present amongst them, to take heed to their suffering, to hope with them, and to remind them that their dignity is safeguarded within the sight of God, and that Christian hope is just not built upon balances of power but upon faith within the Lord of history, who wills peace for His people.”

Also in Tyre, Maronite Bishop Charbel Abdallah told ACN that while many residents are staying put for now, Christians have began to depart nearby border villages.

Maronite Bishop Hanna Rahme, of Baalbek-Deir El Ahmar, told the charity that each Muslim and Christian families from Baalbek have been fleeing to the town of Deir El Ahmar, many returning to locations that had previously offered them shelter during earlier clashes.

Local churches and schools, including St Nohra Church, have been accommodating the brand new arrivals.

Although facilities are already reaching capability, Bishop Rahme said that the Church wouldn’t turn anyone away.

“They are our people. We will maintain them with what we’ve got,” he said. 

An estimated 100 individuals are currently sheltering in a faculty administered by the Sisters of the Good Service within the village of Zboud. Sister Jocelyne Joumaa told ACN the constructing is now full.

“We are secure for now, but actually it’s going to be our turn soon,” she said.

Numerous dioceses have told ACN that if the violence intensifies, they may very well be forced to request international aid to assist supply food, emergency relief items and essential assistance for displaced families.

Christian Aid has also called for an urgent ceasefire across the region.

William Bell, the charity’s head of Middle East policy and advocacy, said governments must act quickly to forestall the crisis escalating further.

“The UK Government must work urgently to bring this war to a right away end before mounting humanitarian suffering across the region escalates into a worldwide crisis with no clear end in sight,” he said.

“With most of Gaza’s borders closed, families are in real danger of running out of food. The widespread displacement across Lebanon means our partners are rapidly assessing how best to support communities, while within the West Bank settler violence against Palestinians continues.”

He added that civilians across the region were once more bearing the brunt of a long-running conflict.

“As ever, it’s innocent civilians who’re paying the value for a long time of impunity and international political failure within the Middle East,” he said. 

The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, who’s herself Iranian, said that the strikes on Iran risk deepening instability across the region.

“The attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel and the reprisals by the Iranian regime have brought a recent wave of fear, uncertainty and in lots of cases devastation to the people of Iran and the entire Middle East, with more nations and folks now being dragged into the conflict” she said.

Bishop Francis-Dehqani, while acknowledging that the Iranian regime “has done profound harm and is deeply unpopular,” cautioned that the results of military intervention remain deeply uncertain.

She echoed the Archbishop of Jerusalem’s call for prayer, asking believers to hunt protection for civilians and wisdom for those making political decisions in what she described as a “profoundly dangerous situation”.

Her words reflect a wider unease amongst Christian communities with ties to Iran.

The death of Ayatollah Khamenei has triggered sharply differing reactions amongst Christian groups.

Some Iranian Christian networks have welcomed the event, accusing the long-time leader of overseeing a long time of repression, including the persecution of converts from Islam.

A report published this month by advocacy organisations Article 18, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Middle East Concern found that the variety of Christians arrested for his or her faith nearly doubled in 2025, from 139 to 254.

Iran ranks tenth on Open Doors’ list of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians.

Others resembling the Archbishop of Jerusalem, nonetheless, have urged restraint and prayer.

Pope Leo has likewise called for dialogue relatively than further military motion, saying stability and peace “are usually not achieved through mutual threats, nor through using weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.”