The head of the Maronite Church, Bechara al-Rai, delivers his Sunday homily in Bkirki on March 24, 2024. (Credit: NNA)
The head of the Maronite Church, Bechara al-Rai, has condemned the attack claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday, which killed more than 130 people.
In his Sunday homily, the prelate denounced "the massacre perpetrated by the Islamic State on Friday in a music hall on the outskirts of Moscow," the Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported. "We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and to the authorities in Moscow, and ask the Russian Embassy in Beirut to pass them on," he said.
A gathering in solidarity with the victims of the attack was held on Saturday evening in front of the Russian Embassy in Beirut. Ambassador Alexander Rodakov, who was at the scene with around 10 other people, described the attack as a "cowardly and despicable act."
The Maronite patriarch also deplored the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine on families and children. He also pointed to the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas on the children of Gaza. "Let us not forget the children of Gaza who are being subjected to a veritable genocide in hospitals … and who are queuing up to get a portion of food," the prelate said, deploring "the silence of the world" in the face of what is happening.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the war in Gaza has so far claimed at least 32,226 lives and left 74,518 wounded.