The Rev. Maroun Ghafari had envisioned a different Holy Week. For years, he held Easter sermons in his predominantly Christian village of Alma al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel. This year, he is preaching from a Beirut suburb, beside a cardboard cutout depicting his church in Alma al-Shaab, now caught in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.
Since hostilities erupted last month between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group — in the shadow of the wider U.S.-Israeli war on Iran — over 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 1 million have been forced to flee their homes. Among those displaced from the war-torn south are thousands of Christians who now find themselves far from their ancestral churches in Lebanon, where Christians have maintained a strong presence through centuries of Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman conquest and plenty of modern-day crises.
Christians are estimated to make up around a third of Lebanon's population of roughly 5.5 million people. With 12 Christian sects, the country is home to the largest proportion of Christians of any nation in the Arab world.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive voices and humanitarian advocates have expressed deep concern over the displacement of Lebanese Christians, emphasizing the disproportionate burden borne by civilians in the conflict. They point to Israel's blanket evacuation orders for southern Lebanon as excessively broad and criticizes the heavy bombardment of areas with significant civilian populations.
Patriarch Beshara al-Rai of Lebanon's Maronite Church delivered a pointed Easter message holding both Hezbollah and Israel accountable for the suffering. "The country is going through a critical situation due to Iranian interference through Hezbollah and Israeli aggression," he said. "Our hearts bleed for the victims of the conflict imposed on Lebanon."
Humanitarian workers and left-leaning analysts have raised alarms about the Lebanese army's withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon, warning that Christian communities left behind are increasingly exposed to Israeli military operations. The cancellation of a Vatican-led aid convoy carrying over 40 tons of supplies to the Christian village of Debel, reportedly canceled for security reasons, has drawn criticism from those who argue humanitarian access should not be impeded.
What the Right Is Saying
Supporters of Israel's military operations argue that Hezbollah's continued presence in southern Lebanon forces Israel to take aggressive action to protect its northern communities from rocket attacks. They contend that Hezbollah deliberately embeds itself in civilian areas, using Lebanese Christians and other non-combatants as human shields.
Conservative commentators note that the current conflict began in earnest after Iran struck Israel, arguing that Hezbollah is acting as Iran's proxy and bears primary responsibility for drawing Lebanon into a wider regional war. They point to years of rocket fire from southern Lebanon toward Israel and argue that Israel's ground invasion is a necessary measure to degrade Hezbollah's military capabilities.
Some voices on the right have expressed frustration with what they characterize as international criticism of Israel's legitimate security operations, arguing that the focus should remain on Hezbollah's aggression rather than civilian displacement caused by Israel's efforts to secure its border.
What the Numbers Show
More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since hostilities escalated. Over 1 million Lebanese have been displaced from their homes, creating one of the largest displacement crises in the region's recent history.
Christians comprise approximately 33% of Lebanon's population of roughly 5.5 million people, making it the Arab nation with the highest proportion of Christians. The country recognizes 12 distinct Christian denominations.
The U.N. peacekeepers known as UNIFIL, present in southern Lebanon for nearly five decades, have been involved in evacuating civilians from conflict zones. A Vatican convoy carrying over 40 tons of humanitarian aid was canceled before reaching its intended destination in the Christian village of Debel.
The Israeli jets and airstrikes have targeted wide areas of southern and eastern Lebanon as part of the ground invasion, with the conflict extending to Beirut's southern suburbs.
The Bottom Line
The war between Israel and Hezbollah has forced over 1 million Lebanese from their homes, including thousands of Christians who now observe Easter far from their ancestral villages and churches. The conflict has created a humanitarian crisis that spans religious communities, with Christian enclaves in the south either displaced or hunkering down despite escalating violence.
The Maronite Church hierarchy has called for peace while placing blame on both Iranian influence through Hezbollah and Israeli military action. As the conflict continues, Lebanese Christians face an uncertain future — some in Beirut's northern suburbs praying for an end to hostilities, others remaining in the south out of what priests describe as a sense of mission and solidarity with their communities.
What happens next depends largely on whether diplomatic efforts can broker a ceasefire. For now, displaced Lebanese Christians mark their most sacred holiday in unfamiliar churches, uncertain whether they will ever return to villages that may no longer exist.