This week has brought alarming news of a possible escalation of violent hostilities between Israel and Lebanon. For the last 11 months, it’s felt like the two nations are about to start another war. Hezbollah, a paramilitary group and political party in Lebanon, launched rockets at Israel on Oct. 8 as Israel started airstrikes on Gaza after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel and killed more than 1,100 people. Israel responded to Hezbollah with attacks in Lebanon.
During the 11 months since, rockets and artillery shells have frequently crossed the border. At least 137 civilians have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes, and at least 25 civilians have been killed in Israel by Hezbollah attacks. An Oct. 13 attack by an Israeli tank targeted a group of journalists on the other side of the border in violation of international law, killing a Reuters photojournalist and wounding six others. Additionally, nearly 200,000 people from southern Lebanon and northern Israel have been displaced from their homes amid the violence.
There have been periods of increased violence over the past several months that threatened to shift the conflict to an outright war. This week has been one of those moments. On Tuesday (Sept. 17), Israeli forces detonated secret explosives inside thousands of pagers brought into Lebanon five months ago. The blasts killed at least 12 people — including two children — and wounded more than 2,800 others. More blasts occurred on Wednesday inside handheld walkie-talkies, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 450 others. Because of fears that Israeli forces would track their cellphones, Hezbollah members have been using pagers and walkie-talkies to communicate. The blasts raise concerns about how Hezbollah will retaliate and if Israel is planning a larger military operation.
Literally caught in the crossfire is a historic Christian population. Christians in northern Israel and southern Lebanon are among those impacted by the last 11 months of conflict and displacement. Over 40% of Lebanon’s population is Christian, a number more than double any other Middle Eastern nation except for the island of Cyprus (which is almost all Christian).
Sunday worship at a Baptist church in Mansourieh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 1, 2023. (Brian Kaylor/Word&Way)
Thimar, a Lebanese Baptist group that oversees several ministries, issued a statement and call to prayer Wednesday after the pager and walkie-talkie attacks. They mentioned immediate consequences disrupting life, like the closures of roads, schools, and public institutions. There’s also “the intangible dread, uncertainty, and anticipation of the next attack.”
“Psychological warfare has become as real as the tangible components of bombs and bullets,” Thimar added. “While there have been several notable flare ups in this conflict that appeared to bring it to the edge of a larger war, this time seems different.”
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