Lebanese Christian leaders condemn Israeli strikes as 'barbaric' amid rising toll
Israel’s intensified bombardment of Lebanon, described by President Joseph Aoun as “barbaric attacks,” drew sharp condemnation from prominent Christian figures as casualty figures climbed and displacement swelled. The Lebanese Health Ministry said more than 300 people have been killed in recent strikes, with over a million displaced.
In a statement posted Wednesday, Aoun’s press team accused Israel of repeated violations since an agreement to cease hostile actions, saying that “over the course of fifteen months since the agreement to cease hostile actions, we have witnessed the scale of violations and breaches committed without any deterrent.” The statement added: “Today, the Israeli entity is once again intensifying its aggression, perpetrating a new massacre that is added to its infamous record, in flagrant defiance of all human values and utterly disregarding all efforts aimed at de-escalation and stability.” The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that it had “carried out the largest strike against Hezbollah terrorists since Operation Roaring Lion,” claiming that “in just one minute, the IDF struck 100 Hezbollah military targets.” Lebanese Forces leader Dr.
Samir Geagea said the country was living through “hell,” describing the previous day’s events in Beirut as “utterly tragic.” In a post on X on Thursday, he added: “It is impossible to overlook the events, crimes, and massacres that took place yesterday in Beirut...
If what happened yesterday does not place us all before our responsibilities to pull Lebanon and the Lebanese people out of the hell we are living in, then we bear no responsibility whatsoever.” Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel, also writing on X on Thursday, voiced “full and explicit support for the negotiation path that has begun to take shape between official Lebanon and Israel,” backing “His Excellency the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister in leading this delicate phase.” He said the goals were to halt the war, disarm Hezbollah, and achieve an Israeli withdrawal “as a first step on the road to consolidating sovereignty, building peace, and restoring the state.” Wednesday marked the deadliest day in Lebanon since the U.S.
and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. In just over five weeks, more than 1,700 people have been killed and nearly 6,000 wounded in Lebanon, according to the Associated Press. Iran and Pakistan, which helped broker a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, said that deal extended to Lebanon, but Israel rejected that interpretation and said Lebanon was not included.
Israel previously agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in late November 2024, though fighting resumed. Local officials in several Christian towns in southern Lebanon said the Israeli military instructed them to expel displaced people who had fled from Shia-majority areas during the war, according to local media.
Some residents have resisted evacuation orders, insisting they are not part of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
During his Easter message, Pope Leo offered consolation “to all Christians of southern Lebanon.” On Easter, Pierre Moawad, a local official with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party, was killed along with his wife and a visiting woman in an Israeli strike near Beirut; the Israeli military said it intended to target a Hezbollah militant.
The statements from Lebanese Christian leaders underscore competing responses as hostilities continue—ranging from denunciations of the strikes to calls for negotiations and disarmament—while Israeli operations and displacement orders point to a conflict that shows little sign of easing.