The Vulnerable People Project (VPP) based in Lebanon is reporting that “[d]uring the regional commemoration of the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, the Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Zawtar al-Gharbiya was severely damaged and vandalized during Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.”
This Maronite institution operated by the Society of Lebanese Maronite Missionaries suffered from artillery shells and gunfire over the weekend according to local reports and clergy.
VPP is also reporting that gunfire appears to have intentionally targeted sacred imagery within the monastery.
In addition to serving as a religious institution, the monastery also houses a vocational school for agriculture to support nearby farming villages. This will unfortunately be closed now, at least temporarily.
Locals fear that the continued destruction of religious and civilian sites in Lebanon signals that these areas are no longer considered safe from military incursion.
Last week, prior to this incident, Jason Jones of VPP joined Catholic for Catholic’s John Yep for an interview to report on what he has seen on the ground in Lebanon and beyond. Yep brought up that many defenders of the Israeli military’s actions in the region would say that they are targeting Hezbollah, and that Christians just end up in the crossfire. Jones said “there is no doubt” that Hezbollah is “a menace to the Christian community,” but that Christian homes have also been targeted by the Israelis with “impunity.”
“The way [the locals] explain it to me is that they’re stuck between two dragons and they have to try to pet both of them,” Jones said.
“But there is no reason for the IDF to destroy their homes, to rip up their olive groves,” he continued. “We went to homes that were bombed just because they were on hills. So the one home that we saw, a Christian family, – a husband, his wife, and his child were killed. His nephew actually walked us through the home and I said, ‘Why were they targeted?’ And they said, ‘We think it was just because of its vantage point.’”
The Lebanese people, Jones said, have been grateful for President Trump’s words condemning Israeli aggression against their homes. “Who they’re most grateful to is Pope Leo.” They believe that the pope’s courageous and continuous advocacy for them is what keeps their communities in existence.
Jones also expressed concern for the Christians of the West Bank, who he believes are being intentionally pushed out of their homes by the Israelis.
The full interview can be watched here.
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