At least eight people have died after a missile attack on a church in Lebanon.
Local Christian sources told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the church had been sheltering people displaced by Israeli airstrikes on the time of the attack.
The airstrikes caused the collapse of the church and two adjoining halls that were getting used as refuges.
A priest’s house and a three-storey constructing housing parish offices were also destroyed within the attack on the church, which is situated within the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Tyre.
Christians in Lebanon have been sheltering refugees since Israel began its offensive against Hezbollah three weeks ago.
Maronite Archbishop Hanna Rahmé of Baalbek-Deir El-Ahmar, within the Beqaa Valley, told ACN that Christian families in his archdiocese have welcomed each Christian and Muslim refugees into their homes, and that Muslims fleeing the bombardments “are enormously touched by this Christian solidarity”.
“Each of the Christian families within the villages around Deir El-Ahmar has welcomed three or 4 displaced families, that’s, between 30 and 60 people,” he said.
“We are choked by the variety of internally displaced people, but we will not leave them to their fate – we should not Christians only for ourselves, but for everybody.”
The archdiocese has needed to step as much as support families hosting refugees since the NGOs are focused on assisting displaced people sheltering in schools, the Archbishop said.
He described the situation as “critical” and said the necessity for food, mattresses and blankets was most urgent.
ACN has been providing practical support for emergency projects in Lebanon in response to the escalating conflict.
Archbishop Rahmé added, “Please stay at our side. If we feature this together, we’ll have the opportunity to do great things.”
