Another tragedy in Lebanon
Where are we now?
In the early days and weeks of this conflict, experts described the fight between Israel and Hezbollah as one being fought within the confines of unspoken rules of engagement between the two parties. Those contours have long been destroyed. Tit-for-tat strikes have spiraled out of control and given rise to an ever-escalating conflict with no end in sight.
Yesterday’s attack would have been unthinkable nearly a year ago. Indeed, who could have imagined such a strike? Across the country, thousands of pager devices rang and then exploded almost simultaneously, leaving nearly 3,000 people wounded and a dozen dead – including two children. If such an attack had appeared in a movie or book, people would dismiss it as science fiction. But for us in Lebanon, it was very much real – and so will be the forthcoming repercussions.
Some of the consequences were felt immediately – security forces closing off roads; speeding ambulances with mutilated patients looking for a hospital with space. Today, schools and public institutions are closed.
But it’s what is still yet to come that looms most heavily – the intangible dread, uncertainty, and anticipation of the next attack. Hezbollah, blaming Israel, has promised to retaliate, and the region once again hangs in suspension as elite Israeli troops, diverted from Gaza, position themselves along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Psychological warfare has become as real as the tangible components of bombs and bullets.
We ask for your prayers and support. A political solution continues to elude this conflict, one that has flared and simmered for decades. And while there have been several notable flare ups in this conflict that appeared to bring it to the edge of a larger war, this time seems different. As we prepared to publish this update, there were new reports around 5 p.m. Beirut time about another wave of explosions across the country. While the details are still unclear, it seems that radios also used by members of Hezbollah detonated. It is unclear at this moment how many people may have been killed or injured in this latest attack.
As we near the somber one-year anniversary of October 7, we stand ever more convinced that the only lasting hope for this situation is found in the life-transforming message of the Gospel – a message that we remain committed to sharing and demonstrating through our support for local churches in Lebanon and across the Arab world.
In these challenging times, help Thimar support the local church in Lebanon and the Arab world. Our vision is to see communities transformed and churches flourishing both in Lebanon and the MENA region for the glory of God.
In response to this ongoing crisis, IBN has today (18th September) donated £1000 from the IBN general fund to THIMAR.
