Monsignor Mounir Khairallah.
Monsignor Mounir Khairallah, Maronite bishop of Batroun, arrived in Rome to participate in the work of the Synod and meet Pope Francis, but his thoughts are turned to his diocese hit by Israeli bombings. «We continue to experience moments of great tension, confusion and fear due to the army attacks with the Davis star. The situation is intolerable”, explains the bishop, describing the exodus of over a million refugees towards Beirut and northern Lebanon, out of a total population of 5 and a half million. Thanks to the help of Caritas and San Vincenzo, the diocese is organizing itself to provide assistance to the displaced.
Did you expect such a massive attack? «The situation is truly dramatic. Israel is hitting Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah positions. The assassination of Nasrallah and many of his commanders surprised everyone. What worries us most is that international powers, such as the United States and Iran, seem to have given the green light to these operations.” Is Iran also an ally of Hezbollah? «My impression is that reason of state has triumphed for Tehran. Hezbollah has every interest in negotiating with the United States, Israel’s protectors, to increase its trade and nuclear program. In exchange he may have sacrificed Hezbollah.”
How is the civilian population reacting? «It is not only Hezbollah supporters who are fleeing, but entire families of civilians seeking escape from the bombing. Israel strikes residential areas mercilessly, even if we cannot accept that this becomes a justification for destroying entire communities.”
Khairallah strongly condemns the indiscriminate violence involving both Christians and Muslims, and appeals to the international community to intervene to stop the escalation. «You must act immediately otherwise a devastating tragedy will strike my people»
The full text of the interview with Monsignor Khairallah will be published in the next issue of Famiglia Cristiana on newsstands from Thursday 3 October.
