Catholic priest killed by Israeli tank fire in Lebanon

A Catholic priest in Lebanon has been killed after an Israeli artillery tank fired on a house. 

Father Pierre El Rai, 50, was attempting to assist parishioners in Qlayaa as their house was fired upon by the IDF tank. While in the home, the tank opened fire again and Father El Rai was injured.

According to Aid to the Church in Need, Father El Rai later died in hospital in consequence of his wounds.

Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai, head of the Maronite Church, which is in full communion with Rome, said Fr El Rai “gave his life as a testament to like and devotion to his priestly mission”.

He called for a return to diplomacy.

“The martyrdom of a priest dedicated to the service of God and his people, steadfast in his pastoral mission alongside the faithful in times of hardship, is a profound wound in the guts of the Church,” he said. 

“It reveals once more the tragedy for which innocents pay the worth within the cycle of violence and wars, against which we now have long warned, urging everyone to maintain our nation out of its tragedies and to embrace negotiation, dialogue, and diplomacy.”

The Patriarch also issued a condemnation of “every attack targeting civilians, religious figures, places of worship, homes, institutions and each inch of our homeland”.

The recent escalation of hostilities between Israel, Iran, the US and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group has threatened the lives of Christians within the region.

Last week an Iraqi Christian community was hit by a drone attack. Fortunately, nobody was killed or injured because the buildings affected had already been evacuated. While it will not be confirmed who carried out the attack, it’s suspected to have been an Iranian drone targeting a close-by US base or the airport.

The latest incident will not be the primary time Christians have been hit by IDF fire.

During the Gaza conflict, Holy Family Church, the one Catholic church within the territory was hit by Israeli ordnance, killing three people and wounding the priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Earlier within the conflict two women taking refuge within the church were killed by Israeli sniper fire.