Lebanon (MNN) — An Israeli airstrike targeting a Hezbollah official killed four people in Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday. Israel says the targeted official was helping Hamas plan an attack on Israeli civilians.
It was Israel’s second airstrike in Beirut in five days, straining the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended last year’s devastating conflict. Heart for Lebanon’s Tom Atema calls the ceasefire “very tenuous at best; there is a lobbying of shells back and forth almost every day.”
Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities arrested several people on Sunday in connection to rocket fire targeting Israel on March 22 and 28. Israel sent a warning to Lebanon on Friday, striking parts of Beirut and saying more would come unless the rocket attacks stopped.
(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)
Months of war between Israel and Hezbollah have left southern Lebanon in tatters. Heart for Lebanon teams are making repairs in several hundred homes.
“Nonprofits, especially faith-based in Lebanon, can’t rebuild a house. [But] we can repair a room in a home,” Atema explains.
Work begins in the kitchen, often considered the heart of the home in Middle Eastern culture.
“The mom can make a meal with a new stove and refrigerator and a few things. They can sit around it, they can talk,” Atema says.
“The kitchen is the hub of the family.”
As they work, believers talk to families about the Lord. Interest leads to deeper conversations.
“Our missional leadership students are doing small group Bible studies throughout southern Lebanon. They have about 130 different people [involved,]” Atema says.
Pray that lives will change as people meet Jesus at the kitchen table. “These kitchens could eventually become like a house church,” Atema says.
Header image depicts a recent art activity at Heart for Lebanon’s children-at-risk club, which exposed the deep trauma experienced by Lebanon’s children. (Photo, caption courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)
