Catholic and Greek Orthodox church leaders are crying out for international protection as Israeli Defense Forces prepare to attack the Christian quarter of the ancient Lebanese port city of Tyre.
Israel has asserted, without evidence, that Hezbollah is now operating in the Christian neighborhoods of Tyre, and has ordered the Christian population to evacuate their homes and businesses.
This is the usual prelude to carpet bombing, resulting in the wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure and mass civilian casualties.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military claimed that as Hezbollah members were working inside the Christian district, it “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”
The IDF said that any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes “may be subject to targeting.”
The evacuation order came just one day after the Christian quarter was visited by the Papal Nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, who came to convey the prayers, blessings and support of Pope Leo XIV.
The Lebanese Army has entered the city to demonstrate that the government, not Hezbollah, controls Tyre. This has not deterred the Israelis however.
In a joint statement, George Iskandar, the Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Tyre, Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan; and Charbel Abdullah, the Maronite Catholic Archeparch, called upon Lebanese authorities, the United Nations, humanitarian organizations and the international community to intervene to prevent the destruction of the Christian quarter by Israeli forces.
The Christian churchmen called upon international leaders to “take immediate and serious action to spare the old quarter of Tyre from destruction and human tragedies.”
“The old city is not merely a residential area,” the clergy said in their statement. “It is the historical and human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families, children, and the elderly. Any targeting or destruction of this neighborhood would constitute a humanitarian and national catastrophe with irreversible consequences,” they warned.
Archbishop Iskandar added “We will not leave this city, which was blessed by the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and which throughout history has borne witness to faith and resilience.”
Tyre is one of civilization’s oldest settlements, dating back more than four thousand years. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, founded in Apostolic times.
The Gospel of Saint Matthew records that Our Savior healed the Canaanite woman’s daughter in the district of Tyre, while the Acts of the Apostles recount that Saint Paul landed in the city, after his voyage from Cyprus.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Israel has been responsible, since the beginning of the war, for nearly 15,000 Lebanese casualties—including 3,600 fatalities—most of them innocent civilians, while 1.5 million Lebanese have been forcibly displaced by IDF evacuation orders—one quarter of the total population of Lebanon.
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle issued the following statement:
The Catholic Action League urges all Catholics, and all persons of good will, to reach out to President Donald Trump, and urge him to restrain the Israelis, and prevent them from inflicting a Gaza-like annihilation on the Christians of Tyre.
Recent comments by President Trump indicate that he is losing patience with the excesses of the Netanyahu regime, so this might be a propitious time to call this imminent threat to his attention.
Please contact President Trump, using the White House email contact box, and tell the President that one of the world’s original Christian communities is in immediate danger of extinction.
You may also call and leave a comment at the White House switchboard at 202-456-1111.
Urge the President to stop this impending aggression!
Many claim to be followers of Christ, but are indifferent to the fate of Christians in the Holy Land. As Catholics, let us never forget our brothers and sisters under attack in the Middle East.
The Melkite Greek Catholic Cathedral of Saint Thomas in Tyre, South Lebanon, seen from the rooftop of the ĒL Boutique Hotel. On the left hand side of the church is the seat of the archeparchy. On the right hand side, the tower of the Franciscan church of Saint Anthony of Padua at the Convent of the Holy Land can be seen. Photo by RomanDeckert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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