Facing Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, nearly 10,000 residents in Christian villages are refusing to leave areas located inside the so-called “Yellow Line,” where Israeli forces continue to advance, clinging instead to their right to remain on their land and defying the Tel Aviv war machine.
In the Bint Jbeil district, where powerful explosions and demolitions are reported daily, about 1,700 Christians remain in the town of Debel, in Ain Ebel there are 1,200 and nearly 7,000 in Rmeish.
The villages, predominantly Maronite Christian, located near Israel’s northern border, have largely chosen to stay despite renewed Israeli aggression that began March 2.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed at least 2,759 people, wounded 8,512 and displaced more than 1.6 million -- about one-fifth of the population, according to the latest figures.
The absence of any visible Hezbollah activity in the towns has generally spared them from direct bombardment and airstrikes, but residents said it has not shielded them from humanitarian suffering during the war and after the ceasefire announced in April.
Washington announced a renewable 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah on April 17 that was later extended by an additional three weeks. Despite that, Israel continues near-daily violations of the ceasefire, while Hezbollah said it is responding by targeting Israeli sites and soldiers.
The villages have effectively become isolated from the rest of Lebanon after Israeli strikes destroyed roads and bridges leading south, while Israeli forces warned against entering towns located within the “Yellow Line” -- a military buffer zone extending 10 kilometers (10 miles) north from the border in southern Lebanon.
The humanitarian situation has drawn attention from Christian luminaries inside and outside Lebanon, reaching even the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV surprised priests in southern Lebanon with a group video call Tuesday, in which he praised their resilience and expressed support for their steadfastness.
According to information obtained by Anadolu, Vatican Ambassador to Lebanon Paolo Borgia had asked priests the previous day to join a communication group titled “Priests of the South,” and remain available Tuesday morning. During the scheduled time, the pope unexpectedly appeared on screen.
Father Najib al-Amil, priest of Rmeish, told Anadolu that the pope spoke with them, surprisingly offered his blessing and assured them that he is praying for them while urging them to pray with him for peace around the world.
Al-Amil, who participated in the call, said that “the priests thanked the pope for the gesture,” which provided major moral support.
“The representative of Christ on Earth spoke to an isolated and forgotten community,” he said, adding that knowing the pope is thinking of them from Rome “greatly boosted morale.”
Debel Mayor Akl Naddaf also told Anadolu that the pope’s communication with priests in the town “gave residents significant encouragement.”
“People remain steadfast, but they are exhausted after months of war and siege,” he said, adding that the pope’s message felt like “a call for residents to remain attached to their land.”
The three villages remained isolated for three weeks, with no one entering or leaving, deepening the humanitarian crisis until first aid convoys arrived after the April 17 ceasefire.
Despite the truce, no humanitarian corridors have been opened to or from the villages, whose residents continue to demand an end to their isolation.
Al-Amil described the humanitarian situation in Rmeish as extremely difficult because of the absence of a safe corridor, noting that cancer and kidney patients face severe medicine shortages.
The nearest hospital is in Sidon, 70 kilometers away, but there is no secure route to transport patients, he said.
He added that aid convoys often fail to reach the town and are sometimes forced to return to Beirut, leaving residents cut off and struggling to survive.
Debel has faced some of the most serious incidents involving Israeli attacks on Christian symbols, despite the town’s lack of a military threat to Israel.
Recent incidents sparked criticism within the Christian world, including one revealed Wednesday in which an Israeli soldier was seen desecrating and placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary.
The incident came weeks after footage emerged April 19 showing another Israeli soldier smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in a scene that drew widespread international condemnation.
The events followed several reported Israeli violations involving Christian holy sites in towns and villages occupied by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sparking global outrage and criticism.
Regarding the situation, the Debel mayor said that the town is still living under a suffocating siege, attributing the reason, in his opinion, to the fact that its location appears to be on a “contact line and a military zone.”
“No one is allowed to enter Debel except the Vatican ambassador,” he said. “We are astonished by this severe blockade imposed on us. Aid convoys cannot reach us, unlike Rmeish and Ain Ebel.”
Naddaf also referred to circulating footage showing an Israeli bulldozer destroying solar panels in the town.
He said the village already suffers from a total electricity blackout after shelling destroyed power lines.
“Residents rely on private generators, while the destroyed solar panels, which were destroyed by the Israeli army, had powered an artesian well supplying drinking water to the town," he added.
He called for at least one humanitarian corridor linking Debel with nearby villages, particularly Rmeish, “to ease humanitarian pressure and daily suffering.”
As humanitarian conditions deteriorate, chronically ill residents remain among the most vulnerable. In Rmeish, al-Amil said one patient recently died after Israeli forces prevented his transfer to a hospital.
He stressed the urgent need for a humanitarian corridor for emergency and medical cases to prevent additional deaths linked to the Israeli siege.
In Debel, Naddaf said a diabetic resident died last week after suffering a health emergency because Israeli forces refused to allow his evacuation for treatment.
A ceasefire has officially remained in place since April 17 and is set to continue through May 17, but Israel continues daily violations through shelling, deadly strikes and large-scale demolition of homes in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul
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