Lebanon (MNN) — As Israel’s war on the Iran-backed group Hezbollah intensifies, Lebanon has traveled back in time.
“There’s a great sense of ‘Not this again’ here in Lebanon, because we’re living the same style of war as we did in the fall of 2024, where we have airstrikes every night,” says Pierre Houssney with Horizons International.
People on the streets of Lebanon in fall 2024. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International via Facebook)
Last week, Lebanon appealed to European leaders and the United States to intervene diplomatically as it seeks a solution with Israel, who is bent on neutralizing Hezbollah. More than 800,000 people have been displaced since the latest Israel-Hezbollah hostilities began on March 2, 2026. Schools, streets, and other public spaces across Lebanon have become shelters.
“The infrastructure that we have available to help those people is really limited,” says Houssney.
In the chaos, Horizons has a pulse on the real-time needs of 130 partner evangelical churches across Lebanon. With donor support, they are equipping these churches with food, bedding, and more to serve families in need. This opens the way to share the hope of Christ.
“The good side of people losing hope in the things of this world is that they often open their eyes and put their hope in the things of eternity,” says Houssney.
Yet in the bigger picture of the Middle East conflicts, Houssney is concerned that narratives in politics and media are drawing Christians into division and even hatred for those considered enemies.
“What I’m seeing in the world is one side cheers when bombs go one way, and another side cheers when bombs go the other way,” he says. “When bombs fly in any direction, when people die, whether they are military or civilian, poor or rich, brown or white or whatever color or nationality they are, God’s image is in those people. And His heart is burdened and really angered when that image is marred. So I think it’s a time for a heart check, so that we can align our hearts with God.”
(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
Please pray for Lebanon, Israel, Iran, and all those caught in or watching the Middle East conflicts unfold. Then, with God’s help, enter your community as a peacemaker.
“I would encourage every [reader] to be looking at the community that they’re in — talking to the people that are around them and encouraging them toward not taking a side in the political matters, but starting to take a side in the spiritual war,” says Houssney. “Taking a stance on the side of love, the side of forgiveness, the side of praying for those who persecute you, blessing those who curse you — you know, really loving your enemy. That’s the side that Jesus is on.”
Header photo courtesy of Nathan McBride via Unsplash.
