Maronite Church Patriarch Bechara al-Rai. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Maronite Church head Bechara al-Rai denounced the use of weapons in his Sunday homily, asserting, “Resorting to the use of weapons makes you the weakest of the weak … Don’t assume you are strong with your weapons,” without explicitly naming Hezbollah, local media outlets reported.
Since Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas attack on Israel, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for several attacks a day against Israeli positions, while villages along the border strip are regularly bombed by Israel.
However, Rai has repeatedly stated that Lebanon “should not be dragged into the conflict.”
“It is not permissible to resort to war by the decision of an individual, party, or group of citizens. It is the state's decision in extreme cases after considering the human, material, financial and destructive losses, and the fate of secure citizens. The decision to go to war is a serious responsibility due to its consequences. So, let us pray, brothers and sisters, to spare the people of southern Lebanon further casualties, losses, destruction, and displacement, and to stop the war on Gaza.”
Some 355 people have been killed in Lebanon, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, since the beginning of the conflict, according to L'Orient Today's count, and around 90,000 people have been displaced from southern border villages. Hezbollah insists that its actions are in support of its ally Hamas.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to go into a full-scale war with Lebanon. On Friday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech marking al-Quds day, "The Lebanon front will not stop, and this is a clear-cut issue, which is linked to the Gaza front.”