Over the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of Christians have left parts of the Middle East for good, driven by wars and the rise of Muslim extremists.

In Lebanon, it has been different. Despite the many crises that have battered the small nation, Christians continue to enjoy religious freedom and significant political influence.

Pope Leo XIV prayed for peace in Lebanon and the region on Monday as he kicked off day two of his trip to the multi-confessional country with a visit to a famous pilgrimage site.

Visiting Pope Leo XIV urged the Lebanese people on Sunday to embrace reconciliation and remain in their crisis-hit country, while calling on its leaders to put themselves fully at the service of their citizens.

Pope Leo XIV wrapped up his visit to Turkey on Sunday before heading to Lebanon, where he aimed to bring a message of hope to its long-suffering people and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East.

Leo had two key appointments in Istanbul before flying to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, whose invitation to commemorate an important Christian anniversary was the impetus for Leo's visit.

The new United States ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, has stated that Israel "does not require the permission of the United States" to defend itself.

Hezbollah on Saturday urged Pope Leo XIV to reject Israeli "injustice and aggression" against Lebanon, in a message to the pontiff who arrives in Beirut this weekend.

Hezbollah emerged heavily weakened from more than a year of hostilities culminating in two months of open war with Israel that began when the Iran-backed group started cross-border attacks against Israel over the Gaza war.

Deep in a rugged valley of southern Lebanon, a cave complex offers a small picture of the subterranean infrastructure Hezbollah relied on near the Israeli border, along with the difficult task the country's army faces as it seeks to disarm the group.

Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem on Friday said the group has the right to respond to Israel's assassination of its top military chief in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs last week.

In a televised speech, Qassem called the killing of Haitham Ali Tabatabai "a blatant aggression and a heinous crime,” adding that Hezbollah has "the right to respond, and we will determine the timing for that.”

The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday submitted a complaint to the U.N. Security Council regarding Israel's construction of two concrete walls inside Lebanese territory.

In a statement, the Ministry said that it "submitted, through Lebanon's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, a complaint to the Security Council in response to Israel's new and serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty, adding to its numerous and ongoing violations.”

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell and Minister of Environment Tamara al-Zein have inaugurated the “King Charles III Cedar Trail”, a new reforestation and eco-tourism initiative in the Shouf Biosphere Reserve.

The event was attended by Noura Jumblat, the mayors and makhateer of Ain Zahalta, Bmahray and Mokhtara, the head of the reserve committee Faisal Abu Ezzeddine, and the reserve's staff.