LEBANON: Maronite Catholic priest killed by Israeli tank fire in southern Lebanon
Maronite Catholics were told by Israel to leave their villages
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (09.03.2026) – On Monday 9 March, Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest was killed in southern Lebanon when an Israeli artillery tank fired on a house of the village of Qlayaa he was the priest of. He was ministering to his distressed parishioners in the village when the attack occurred.
An Israeli Merkava tank hit a house in Qlayaa twice. The first strike wounded the owner and his wife. The priest and other neighbors rushed to the scene to help when the tank fired a second time. Fr. al-Rahi was wounded from the strike and later died from his injuries. Four other Lebanese were also injured in the attack.
On 8 March, a day before his death, al-Rahi told the French TV channel France24 on the steps of his church in Qlayaa: “We are are forced to stay despite the danger, when we defend our land, and we do so peacefully. None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love.”
Fr. Pierre al-Rahi, also known by his French name Pierre el-Raï, had earlier refused, along with other priests, to obey an order by the Israeli military to evacuate the Christian village of Qlayaa, a Maronite village of some 8,000 inhabitants in the Marjayoun district, a few miles from the Israeli border.
Despite the growing insecurity in southern Lebanon, many priests and religious sisters have chosen to remain with their communities. Many Christian families have also stayed in their villages, unwilling to abandon their homes, land and livelihoods.
Israel and Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon
The Israeli army has carried out an intensive campaign bombing on suspected Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, south Beirut and the Bekaa Valley to root out the Iran-backed militia and their weapons. Hezbollah militants have been known to hide in Christian and other villages in the south.
L’Oeuvre d’Orient condemned the war between Israel and Hezbollah because it will destabilize all of Lebanon, kill innocent civilians and lead to the extinction of historic Christian villages south of the Litani River, it said in a press release.
AsiaNews, an official press agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, also reported the death of Sami Ghafari, a Maronite Catholic killed by an Israeli drone while he was in his garden. He was a brother of Fr. Maroun Ghafari, parish priest of Our Lady’s Church in Alma Shaab.
Ghafari had also refused to evacuate and chose to defend the Christian village’s neutrality in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces political party, Samir Geagea, called on the Lebanese army to protect the country’s towns and villages.
“Elements of Hezbollah infiltrated the town, prompting Israeli strikes that resulted in destruction and devastation, as well as the death of the parish priest” said Geagea, as reported by L’Orient-Le Jour.
Geagea emphasized that “residents have repeatedly asked the Lebanese army not to allow illegal armed elements to enter their villages. Yet, to date, the army has failed in this mission, and the tragedy in Qlayaa today is the most blatant proof of this.”
On 11 August 2006, the United Nations unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1701 putting an end to the 34-day 2006 Lebanon War, calling for a full cessation of hostilities, the deployment of Lebanese/UNIFIL forces in the south, and the disarmament of all armed groups, specifically targeting Hezbollah.
Lebanon was politically never able to disarm Hezbollah in the last 20 years. After the 12-day war of President Trump against Iran in 2025, the current US-Israel war against Iran provided Israel with a new window of opportunity to weaken Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy.
A short history of the Maronites in Lebanon
The Maronites are one of the most influential religious communities in Lebanon, with a history that blends religion, politics, and cultural identity. They belong to the Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church that is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining its own liturgy and traditions rooted in the Syriac Christian heritage.
The Maronite community traces its origins to Saint Maron, a hermit who lived in the 4th–5th centuries in the region of present-day Syria. His followers formed a monastic movement that gradually developed into a distinct church. Over time, particularly between the 7th and 10th centuries, many Maronites migrated into the rugged mountains of Mount Lebanon, where they established relatively autonomous communities. The mountainous terrain helped them preserve their religious identity during periods of political and religious upheaval in the wider Middle East.
Historically, the Maronites developed strong connections with Western Europe, especially France, which saw itself as a protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. During the period of Ottoman rule of Lebanon, Maronites were one of several religious communities living under the empire’s millet system, which granted limited autonomy to religious groups. In the 19th century, tensions between Maronite Christians and Druze communities led to violent conflicts, most notably the 1860 Mount Lebanon civil conflict, which drew European intervention.
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, the territory of modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. Many Maronite leaders supported the creation of a separate Lebanese state in 1920, believing it would protect Christian interests in a region with a large Muslim population. As a result, Maronites became politically dominant in the early decades of the Lebanese state.
Maronites in modern Lebanon
Lebanon’s political system later formalized a delicate balance between religious groups known as Lebanese confessionalism. Under the National Pact, the President of Lebanon must be a Maronite Christian, while other top offices are reserved for different religious communities (the prime minister for a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament for a Shia Muslim). This arrangement was meant to preserve stability in a highly diverse society.
However, tensions between religious communities, demographic changes, and regional conflicts contributed to the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. Various Maronite militias, including those linked to the Lebanese Forces, played major roles in the war.
The 15-year Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) ended with the Taif Agreement which was signed on 22 October 1989 in Saudi Arabia. This reduced the political dominance previously held by Maronite Christians but preserved the confessional power-sharing system.
Today, Maronites remain a central part of Lebanese society, culture, and politics. Their church leadership is headed by the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, who resides in Lebanon. Although many Maronites have emigrated over the past century—forming large diaspora communities in the Americas, Europe, and Australia—they continue to influence Lebanese public life.
Culturally, Maronites contribute significantly to Lebanon’s multilingual and cosmopolitan character. Many speak Arabic, French, and increasingly English, reflecting Lebanon’s complex historical ties and global connections.
