Al-Rahi: No one should drag our country into useless war

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday said “no one should drag our country into war, killing, destruction, displacement and homelessness, for no use and for issues that the Lebanese in general and our people in the Lebanese south have nothing to do with.”

Al-Rahi’s remarks, in his Sunday Mass sermon, were an apparent jab at Hezbollah, which had activated Lebanon’s southern front against Israel a day after Hamas launched its unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on south Israel.

“Lebanon’s message is to be a land of peace and a pioneer of peace, due to its composition, cultural and religious diversity, history, political system and coexistence pact,” the patriarch added.

Al-Rahi also strongly condemned Israel’s “horrible and shameful crimes in the Gaza Strip,” lamenting that “dozens were deliberately killed while starving and waiting for food aid.”

At least 289 people have been killed in Lebanon since the beginning of clashes, mostly Hezbollah fighters and their allies, along with 44 civilians. On the Israeli side, the army says 10 soldiers and six civilians have been killed, while tens of thousands of residents on both sides have been displaced.