The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

With yet another blow to regional stability, many Christians in the Holy Land believe it is time to leave. Yet the mission of the Church remains, bringing hope and dignity to people in their daily lives. The director of the Development Office of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ), George Akroush, was in Germany when Israel and the USA began a major military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran. With all flights to Israel canceled because Iran’s retaliation attacks ...

The last entirely Christian village in the West Bank, Taybeh, east of Ramallah, has been enduring a wave of attacks and intimidation by Israeli settlers. Hostile acts include setting fire to agricultural lands, cars, and the walls of an ancient church; hateful and threatening graffiti; releasing livestock into the village – not to mention the numerous military checkpoints at the entrances to the town. On February 8, 2026, the Israeli government adopted an administrative decision strengthening the authority of its ...

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 ...