Melkite Archbishop Georges Iskandar decries renewed violence as airstrikes hit Lebanon, pleading for peace and protection of innocent civilians.
Newsroom (04/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) The steady hum of midnight airstrikes shattered an uneasy calm across Lebanon’s southern skies on March 2, awakening families to a new phase of fear. Among the voices rising from the chaos was that of Archbishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre, who lamented that those paying “the ultimate price” are the innocent men, women, and children whose only desire is peace.
The Melkite Greek Catholic leader described to OSV News how the night’s sudden escalation by Israeli forces had “caught civilians completely unprepared,” plunging communities into panic and displacement. “What weighs most heavily upon the heart,” he said, “is that those paying the price are simple and peaceful people … families who have no part in the calculations of greater conflicts.”
Chaos and displacement on Lebanon’s roads
Following the U.S.–Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28, Hezbollah retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel’s port city of Haifa. The response was swift and fierce: Israeli warplanes struck multiple locations in southern Lebanon, accompanied by emergency evacuation orders to dozens of nearby villages.
Archbishop Iskandar recalled that many received “rapid Israeli warnings” giving residents only minutes to flee. “Within minutes, the roads were overwhelmed with vehicles,” he said. “Families with children and elderly relatives were stranded on the roads, uncertain where to go, carrying only what they could gather in haste.”
His voice, filled with grief, described a haunting scene — one of unarmed civilians fleeing not out of allegiance or ideology, but mere geography.
Government condemnation and fears of escalation
As the violence rippled northward, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Hezbollah’s attacks, calling them “irresponsible and suspicious.” His statement, shared on X, warned that the militant group’s actions “endanger Lebanon’s security” and could provide Israel “pretexts to continue its aggressions.”
International Christian organizations echoed similar concern. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a papal foundation supporting persecuted Christians, issued a statement warning of the potentially “catastrophic consequences” of renewed conflict across the region.
“The Christian presence in the Middle East must not die out,” said Regina Lynch, the foundation’s executive president. “A new spiral of violence could push already fragile communities beyond the point of survival.”
The Church becomes a refuge
In Tyre, the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy transformed into a shelter for those seeking safety. “The Church is a home open to every suffering person,” Archbishop Iskandar said, emphasizing how priests, volunteers, and parishioners mobilized immediately to welcome the displaced.
This spontaneous network of compassion, he described, revealed “the true face of Lebanon — a people who stand beside the innocent who have suddenly found themselves exposed to fear and displacement.”
A cry for stability and the right to peace
In his message, Archbishop Iskandar underscored the Lebanese government’s stance that only the state holds the authority to decide questions of war and peace. Any group acting otherwise, he warned gently, “places itself outside the law and the will of the Lebanese people, who long for stability and peace.”
But beyond politics, the archbishop’s words painted a portrait of a weary nation. “They fear for their children and their future,” he said. “They yearn for a simple and ordinary life — that a child may go to school without fear, that an elderly person may sleep peacefully in his home.”
Holding faith amid crisis
For the Melkite prelate, the Church’s mission remains clear: to stay near the suffering and remind them of their dignity under God. “Christian hope,” he said, “is not built upon balances of power but upon faith in the Lord of history, who wills peace for His people.”
As the conflict widens and the skies darken once again over Lebanon’s southern towns, Archbishop Iskandar’s message resonates as both lament and plea — that amid turmoil, humanity’s quiet yearning for peace may yet be heard.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from OSV News
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