[Field Story] Lebanon is also ‘calm before the storm’… Residents anxious about risk of becoming battlefield

As Iran and the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah recently announced that they would attack Israel in retaliation for a series of assassinations, anxiety is growing in Lebanon that the country will become a battlefield.

The British daily Guardian reported on the 4th (local time) that many Lebanese people are despairing of the 'calm before the storm'-like reality, where another war could break out at any moment as the situation continues to make it difficult to expect an easing of tensions.

Hezbollah sympathized with the surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas in October last year and continued sporadic fighting by attacking northern Israel with missiles and rockets.

The clash between the two sides, who repeatedly fired and returned fire across the border, has not yet led to a full-scale war, but the situation changed drastically when Hezbollah's high-ranking commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in a targeted airstrike in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the 30th of last month.

In particular, the next day, an incident occurred in Tehran, the capital of Iran, which had served as a backbone of Hezbollah and Hamas, and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a leading figure in Hamas.

In response, Hezbollah and Iran declared retaliation against Israel, and concerns are growing that the war could escalate into an all-out war as the United States and Israel raised the prospect that large-scale missile and drone attacks could be carried out, as was the case during Iran's airstrike on Israel in April of this year.

The United States and the United Kingdom have already advised their citizens staying in Lebanon to "leave the country immediately."

As the war crisis escalated, outdoor billboards were erected throughout Lebanon with images of bombed-out buildings and the words "The past must not be repeated" and "Lebanon does not want war."

Additionally, the Guardian reported that building rents are soaring in the mountainous areas around Beirut, which are considered relatively safe, as people seek refuge for fear of an emergency.

As anxiety grows, criticism of the government's incompetence and skepticism about Hezbollah are coming out.

Critics of Hezbollah raised their voices and said that it should be the Lebanese government, not Hezbollah, which is a political faction, that will decide the fate of Lebanon.

It is true that the majority of Lebanese people have sympathy for the Palestinians dying in the Gaza Strip, but some are concerned that the price Lebanon must bear due to Hezbollah's involvement in the Gaza War may be difficult to bear.

However, the Guardian reported that the Palestinian refugee community living in Lebanon, estimated at 170,000 to 470,000 people, is also seen expecting an all-out war with Israel.

Residents of the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp near Beirut say they are waiting for retaliation from Hezbollah and Iran to begin.

Major General Munir al-Mikda, leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Palestinian armed group that has been fighting alongside Hezbollah, emphasized, "We are ready for any confrontation with Israel."

Source: Yeonhab News

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5:11-12)

After the Lebanese militant faction Hezbollah vowed to attack Israel, you receive disturbing news that Lebanon is on the verge of becoming a war zone and that residents are becoming increasingly anxious.

As minority of Hezbollah and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are increasingly voicing their desire for all-out war with Israel over the majority Lebanese, we ask that God will be a refuge for Lebanon and protect it.

We ask that you remember the past, Lebanon has been a refuge for refugees from Palestine and Syria, and that You will not allow the Israeli-Hamas war to spread to Lebanon through those who pray in Jesus' name.

We believe that now is the time for the churches in Lebanon to be more evangelistic and to shout the name of the Lord joyfully.

We proclaim ‘the war belongs to you Lord, and the one who will stop the war and protect them will be the Lord’, allow us to further preach the gospel to fearful Lebanese souls and refugees.

Hezbollah cannot give life to Lebanon; allow the churches in Lebanon to break the power of death and proclaiming that only Jesus Christ is Lord of life.

May the global churches join us in prayer and help to fill Lebanon and the Arab world with the true peace and love found in Jesus Christ.

Allow the nation of Lebanese to proclaim Jesus Christ, the one who reign and the prince of peace, to the Arabs and the nations!