The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

ACN representative in Lebanon expresses mixture of exasperation and hope in midst of humanitarian crisis The day before Israel began a new military campaign in Lebanon, many people there were expressing relief that the country had not been dragged into the Mideast conflict. But then Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel, to retaliate for the US-Israel military operation in Iran. And Israel renewed its campaign against Hezbollah strongholds. Now, said Marielle Boutros, Project Coordinator ...

Since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East at the end of February 2026, the southern border of Lebanon has again become a war zone. In this context of increased violence, Fr. Maroun Youssef Ghafari, the Maronite parish priest of Alma Sha’b, on the border with Israel, has decided to stay with his community despite the danger. His determination has already been put to the test in a dramatic way, when his brother Sami Ghafari, 70, was killed ...

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) calls for prayers for Fr. Pierre El Rai, a Maronite priest from the Maronite Diocese of Tyre and a project partner of the foundation in southern Lebanon, who was killed amid the current escalation of violence in the region. According to information received by ACN, the priest was helping people affected by a bombardment in a nearby area when another attack occurred. The exact circumstances of his death are still ...

The return of war to the Middle East has reopened old wounds, and many Christians are again contemplating leaving the region. A drone strike last Wednesday, March 4, damaged Church-owned buildings in Ankawa, the Christian-majority district of Erbil in northern Iraq, raising fears among local Christians about their future in the region amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. “When war erupts in the Middle East, we face another erosion, fast or slow. Do we stay? Do our children have ...

In times of war, it is always the marginalized who suffer the most, said a Catholic bishop in northern Iraq. Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of the Archdiocese of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan issued a statement following a drone strike on a Catholic facility in the Christian part of Erbil. At about 8 p.m. on March 4, the Blessed Michael McGivney Apartment complex in Ankawa, Erbil, was struck by an apparent drone attack. The complex is owned by the Chaldean ...

Since the beginning of airstrikes against Iran, ACN has remained in contact with project partners in the region, assessing the need for emergency assistance. Nearly 30,000 people have been displaced following a wave of overnight airstrikes that hit Lebanon on Monday, March 2, according to figures released by the Lebanese government. The attacks shattered the fragile calm that had held in recent months. The strikes were carried out by Israel as a response to attacks by the militant group Hezbollah ...