{"id":17717,"date":"2026-03-17T17:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T21:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/?p=17717"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T21:32:09","slug":"lebanon-under-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanon-under-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebanon Under Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Dozens of packed cars filled the center of Alma al-Shaab on 10 March. Residents who had initially chosen to remain in the southern Lebanon village, despite the Israeli military\u2019s evacuation orders, were waiting for the United Nations evacuation to begin at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were forced to leave,\u201d said Mayor Chadi Sayah the next day. \u201cWe learned through the mechanism (the U.S.-French-led ceasefire monitoring system) that the Israelis wanted us to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one instructed us to stay or to leave, but we understood that it would be our srderole responsibility to remain and we could not secure security guarantees [from Israel],\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 80 people departed in a convoy escorted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), joining more than 800,000 people across Lebanon displaced by a renewed all-out war that began 2 March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of those who left found refuge with relatives in Beirut and its surroundings. Since increased Israeli attacks in 2024, the village\u2019s population has dropped to about 100 residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Sayah, 25, was originally among the villagers who decided to stay, despite the Israeli evacuation order on 2 March. The order was issued to 53 villages, many of them in the south, some overlooking the demarcation line with Israel, others inland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI drove my mother and grandmother to safety in Kfarshima [11 miles from Beirut], and then I returned to my village,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That evening, footage of residents ringing the bells of Our Lady of the Nativity Maronite Church went viral on social media, and residents took shelter in the church hall and basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For several days, despite security concerns, they were hopeful they could remain in their village. By evening, they would \u201cgather at the church and spend the night there as the shelling often becomes more violent at night,\u201d Joe Sayah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next day, the Israeli military removed Alma al-Shaab from the list of 80 villages ordered to evacuate, only to reissue evacuation orders for all residents south of the Litani River, on 4, 7 and 10 March. By 13 March, the Israeli army expanded the scope of its evacuation notice for Lebanon to include 14 percent of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe most difficult thing is that we don\u2019t know when we will be back,\u201d said Joe Sayah, now in Beirut. He said he has experienced trouble sleeping ever since he narrowly survived an Israeli helicopter attack on the car in which he was traveling on 7 March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were on our way to meet the UNIFIL, when the car was first hit, shattering all the windows,\u201d he said. \u201cWe kept going and they hit us again, then we escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said he was disappointed the apostolic nuncio encouraged residents to comply with the evacuation order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish they had supported us in staying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Christians who remained in the south have died as victims of the expanding violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn Sunday [8 March], they killed my brother,\u201d said Chorbishop Maroun Ghafari. Sami Ghafari was watering vegetables and plants next to the ruins of his parents\u2019 home when he was struck by Israeli fire. The home had been destroyed by the Israeli military during the 2024 war, Msgr. Ghafari said, but it was how his brother \u201cshowed his attachment to the land and the love he had for his village.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chorbishop Ghafari held a Divine Liturgy and burial for his brother, despite attacks immediately surrounding the village. \u201cMay he rest in peace,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is war now, and the innocents pay the price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260308T0908-POPE-ANGELUS-MIDDLE-EAST-IRAN-1814805-scaled1-1024x683.jpg\")