Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai rejected in his Sunday sermon the extension of the Gaza war to southern Lebanon, demanding Hezbollah - without naming it – to remove rocket launchers placed adjacent to homes in southern towns.
"Words cannot be found to condemn the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and its children, women, and elderly in their safe homes, hospitals, mosques, and churches," Al Rai said.
He condemned the silence of the international community. “Israel and the silent international community believe that this war will liquidate the Palestinian cause and end the demand for a two-state solution and the return of refugees to their land, but they are wrong.”
He insisted that “injustice begets injustice, and war brings about war.”
The war “must be stopped, and the Lebanese, their homes, and their livelihoods must be protected, as they have not yet recovered from the ill-fated consequences of the Lebanese war.”
Rai further demanded “the removal of any rocket launcher planted between homes in southern towns, which attract a devastating Israeli response.”
The patriarch also urged all sides to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
He further condemned the "inciting, offensive, unethical and factually incorrect campaign" directed last week towards the Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land Moussa al-Hage over news circulating about his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Rai said that al-Hage "did not participate in the visit to the Israeli President due to his engagements elsewhere in the archdiocese."
Last week, al-Hage denied that he had taken part in the annual Christmas greetings ceremony for the bishops of Jerusalem, alongside Herzog.
