More than a million people from South Lebanon have fled to Beirut to escape Israeli bombings of Hezbollah targets in the south. But some, like the 1,700 residents of the southern Christian village of Debel, chose to stay to protect their homes, believing they might be spared from Israeli actions because they “have remained completely neutral in this war, with no involvement in military or political matters,” said Michel Constantin, Catholic Near East Welfare Association/Pontifical Mission for Palestine’s regional director for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt.
Mr. Constantin said since 27 March, the residents of Debel have been in total isolation, because as the Israeli army advanced, the Lebanese Army was forced to withdraw from the area and redeploy outside the occupied zone. The Israeli occupation also cut off the Christian villages of Rmeish and Ain Ebel.
On two separate occasions, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, has tried to get an aid convoy to Debel. One convoy organized by various Catholic aid agencies, including CNEWA/PMP, was unable to reach Debel on Easter, 5 April. Two days later, shelling and raids forced the convoy to stop about 7 miles from the village. The nuncio has visited other villages in the south and led convoys.
The convoys to Debel were to deliver more than 40 tons of essential supplies, such as medicine, food, water and bread, said Mr. Constantin.
In a situation update, issued 7 April, Mr. Constantin said Debel residents had enough food to last “no more than two days.”
“There is no access to safe drinking water,” he said. Cooking gas and medications “are no longer accessible.
“At this critical moment, the people of Debel are not asking for more than the right to live in dignity and safety in their own homes,” Mr. Constantin said. “Their resilience is remarkable — but without urgent intervention, their situation may soon become irreversible.”
Israel began ground operations in South Lebanon on 16 March in response to attacks by the militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, after the U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 28 February. Lebanon did not authorize the Hezbollah attacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said 31 March that once the current war with Hezbollah is over, Israel would maintain in control of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 20 miles from Israel’s border with Lebanon.
The U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire agreement 7 April, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the terms do not apply to Israeli actions in Lebanon. Israeli forces bombed central Beirut on 8 April, killing at least 182 people. The following day, Netanyahu said he had approved direct talks with Lebanon, although Lebanon did not immediately respond to the announcement.
Also on 9 April, the Associated Press reported more than 1,700 people have been killed and nearly 5,900 wounded in Lebanon since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly prayed for peace in the region, and he urged people to join him in a prayer vigil for peace 11 April. On Easter, he sent a message to the people of Debel.
“In your misfortune, in the injustice you suffer, in the sense of abandonment you feel, you are very close to Jesus,” he said in a message signed on his behalf by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
“You are close to him, too, on this Easter Day when he conquered the forces of evil, and which resonates for you as a promise of the future. So do not lose heart! “None of your prayers, none of your acts of solidarity, none of the sighs of weariness you utter are lost: Our Lady of Lebanon keeps everything in her heart and brings it to her