Lebanon (MNN) — Life in Beirut seems to carry on after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hezbollah commander there last week. Beachfronts and cafes are open and full of people, but the normalcy is razor-thin.
“You’ll be sitting [or] walking, and you’ll hear large explosions: it’s Israeli jets breaking the sound barrier over Beirut and over Mount Lebanon,” says Hunter Williamson with Thimar-LSESD. “These are largely just shows of force, but they’re adding a lot to the anxiety and pressure.”
Ten months of escalating fire between Hezbollah and Israel have taken a deep toll on the people of Lebanon.
“If you drive just an hour south of Beirut, you really begin to enter a different world. Almost 100,000 people have been displaced over the past several months. You have entire villages deserted, damaged and destroyed,” says Williamson.
“Both Iran and Israel and Hezbollah have suggested that they still would like to avoid a full scale war. But the situation very much seems to be getting out of hand. There’s a lot of talk about how people will be able to get out of the country if a larger conflict erupts.”
This is all just one more challenge the people of Lebanon face on top of crippling economic and political crises of the past several years.
(Photo courtesy of Thimar-LSESD/MERATH)
“Many people were already struggling to get by before this conflict began,” Williamson says. “[It] has added another tremendous amount of weight to already very tired shoulders.”
Thimar’s staff serves as the hands and feet of Christ as they all look to an uncertain future.
“Thimar remains committed to Lebanon and to the wider Middle East. We have many different ministries focused on aid and development, on education, on church planting, and building on special needs, education and support,” Williamson says.
“Whether it’s providing education, whether it’s providing aid, whether it’s helping with home rehabilitation, through this Thimar is not only declaring the gospel, but it’s demonstrating it.”
Pray for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. Pray that Christians on the ground will be agents of peace and justice, and that many will come to know Christ through this incredibly difficult time.
Learn more about the ministries of Thimar at thimar.org.
Header photo of damaged building in Beirut, Lebanon is a representative stock photo courtesy of Jo Kassis/Pexels.
