'We Carry Nothing But Weapons of Peace,' Said Priest Days Before Israel Killed Him in Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV was among those expressing grief Monday over the killing of Father Pierre al-Rahi, a Maronite Catholic priest, in an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Qlayaa, days after he had insisted on staying in the region despite evacuation orders, in order to care for residents there.

Agence France-Presse reported that it was unclear why Israel targeted a home where a couple lived in Qlayaa at about 2:00 pm Beirut time on Monday. Up to now, Israeli forces had largely left the community untouched in their attacks on Lebanon in retaliation against Hezbollah, which has launched rockets at Israel in response to the Israeli-US war on Iran in recent days.

After a first strike was launched by a tank, wounding the owners of the house, al-Rahi was among the neighbors who rushed to the scene to help the residents. The priest was injured in a second strike and later died at a hospital from his injuries. Several other civilians were also wounded in the attack.

The pope expressed "profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East over the last few days—for the many innocent people, including many children, and for those who were providing them with aid, such as Father Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa."

Al-Rahi, who was 50, was killed days after speaking publicly in support of Lebanese civilians who are "defending our lands."

"As our forefathers said, we are only defending our land," said al-Rahi of the community members who were staying in the southern town in defiance of Israeli demands that the evacuate. "We are defending ourselves peacefully. None of us carry weapons. We carry nothing but the weapons of peace, goodness, love, prayer, and more prayer."

"That's why we want to preserve the fact that we are here on our land today," said the priest.

One Lebanese commentator said al-Rahi was "a priest with prayers. Murdered in broad daylight."

Israel's military has been bombing what it claims are Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon over the past week, and civilians have reported that residential areas are increasingly being targeted.

Qlayaa Mayor Hanna Daherl told Asia News that Israel claimed "there were fighters in the house, but that's not true. These are lies."

"Inside, there were only the residents of the house and people from the village who came to help the wounded," said Daher.

Israel demanded last week that residents of southern Lebanon—where about 200,000 people live—immediately leave and head north of the Litani River, but al-Rahi was among many clergy members who said they would stay to support civilians who couldn't leave their homes.

Aid to the Church in Need International told OSV News that "despite the growing insecurity in southern Lebanon, many priests and religious sisters have chosen to remain with their communities. Many Christian families have also stayed in their villages, unwilling to abandon their homes, land, and livelihoods."

Father Toufic Bou Merhi, a parish priest of two communities in the area, told EWTN News that fleeing the region would mean “living on the street or trying to rent a house, but people can’t afford it.”

He said the killing of al-Rahi has deeply impacted the local Catholic community, whose members are "weeping over the tragedy and, at the same time, are very afraid."

"Until now, people didn’t want to leave their homes in Christian villages, but in this situation, everything has changed,” Bou Merhi told EWTN News.

The French charity L'Oeuvre d'Orient, which supports Christians in the Middle East, condemned "in the strongest possible terms these acts of war, which aim to destabilize all of Lebanon and kill innocent civilians."

"The death of a priest who refused to leave his parish is yet another escalation of senseless violence," said the group. "L'Oeuvre d'Orient also denounces the risk of annexation and the disappearance of villages south of the Litani River, particularly historic Christian villages."

The Lebanese Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 394 people, including 42 women and 83 children, had been killed in Lebanon by Israeli forces since they began retaliating against Hezbollah.