Rai Holds Onto Call for Lebanon’s Neutrality

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
TT
20

Rai Holds Onto Call for Lebanon’s Neutrality

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai reiterated on Sunday his call for “neutrality” to resolve the country’s crisis.

During Sunday's mass service in Diman, he criticized the factions rejecting neutrality, saying they want to push Lebanon into international and regional wars.

"I don't know if someone who truly cares about the welfare of Lebanon and its people, as well as its unity and return to prosperity, would reject or question this active neutrality or claim that it does not enjoy consensus or that it is hard to achieve," the Patriarch said.

Rai praised the role of the military institution on the occasion of the Lebanese Army's Diamond Jubilee, in defending the sovereignty of Lebanon and the Lebanese people.

"We must rally around the Lebanese army, because it is the protector of the homeland alongside other security institutions, especially in this difficult stage that Lebanon is going through," the Patriarch said.

Rai congratulated the Lebanese people, in general, and Muslims, in particular, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, hoping that it would bring about further peace and prosperity.

In early July, the Patriarch launched a call to announce Lebanon’s neutrality and distance the country from regional and international conflicts.

The call, widely supported by several political parties, was met with silence from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.

However, Grand Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, who is close to both parties, said Friday, "The issue of neutrality is impossible, not because we don't want it, but rather because it is totally infeasible."



Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
TT
20

Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israel said Saturday that troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza to pressure the Hamas militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.
A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located, The Associated Press reported. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.
Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.
Netanyahu said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The latest announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January.
Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. The White House supported Israel's move.
Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.
Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza.