On Monday, Israel ordered the residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. Two of the villages are a mere 20-minute drive from Heart for Lebanon’s Hope Center. 

“We still can operate from our center, we still can reach out to people, but you could tell the fear that it can become another battleground,” says Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki.

Peace talks brokered by the United States haven’t fully collapsed yet. However, renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and the threat of Israeli strikes on Beirut, have thrown the talks off track. 

“If things keep getting worse, Israel might push the evacuation line beyond the Zahrani River, which means then our center would become part of those areas that need to be completely evacuated,” says Melki.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon’s summer outreach is on the line, including their Summer of Hope programs.

“This is VBS on steroids, a lot of fun activities, a lot of music, teaching, games, Bible stories, drama, singing,” says Melki. These programs give kids the space to be kids again and to learn about God. 

The Summer of Hope has already begun in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. But for their Hope Center in southern Lebanon, the team is developing an alternative plan.

“Instead of bringing the students to our center for our Summer of Hope ministry, we will take them to safer areas in southern Lebanon — places where they can play freely, where they don’t hear those drones over them all the time, or hear the air strikes,” says Melki.

Safety is becoming harder to find, however. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Forces issued evacuation warnings for three more villages in southern Lebanon. The IDF has also warned Christian neighborhoods of Tyre that Hezbollah militants are among them. If residents do not expel Hezbollah, the IDF said, they will order more evacuations and take action. Tyre is less than a 40-minute drive away from Heart for Lebanon’s closest Hope Center.

Find your place in the story

Pray that Lebanese believers can continue to share Christ in word and deed.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

“The number of families that we are reaching to help keeps growing. In fact, the resources are very limited in the entire nation. We are coming alongside other churches and other church ministries and faith-based organizations providing aid to those small entities,” says Melki. 

For example, on June 1 alone, Melki says Heart for Lebanon provided 540 food parcels to sister churches and faith-based NGOs who had run out of resources.

“Pray for wisdom, pray for safety, pray for perseverance, and pray for the much-needed resources, so we can continue to do what God has called us to do: help lead people from despair to hope in Christ, and Christ alone,” says Melki. 

Connect with Heart for Lebanon and learn how you can help resource their ministry in further prayer and financial support.

Header photo of Summer of Hope outreach courtesy of Heart for Lebanon via Facebook.

Secretary Marco Rubio attends working-level peace talks with Israel and Lebanon at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)

Tensions reached a boiling point yesterday when Israel responded to Hezbollah attacks, carrying out its deepest incursion since the 2000 war. U.S. President Donald Trump described a de-escalation between the warring sides on Monday afternoon:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to dial back fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with the Lebanese militant group through mediators.

Trump announced the development in a social media post following a call with Netanyahu, whose forces recently made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century. Trump there would be no Israeli troops “going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.”

Cease-fire hopes falter

As with most Middle East conflicts, the latest escalation doesn’t occur in a vacuum.

“Last Thursday and Friday, a military delegation from the Lebanese army met at the Pentagon with an Israeli delegation, which is the first time in the history of those two nations that military representatives meet together,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki explains.

“We were hoping that the outcome of that meeting would come to a ceasefire and some sort of an agreement on the Israelis’ withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament,” he continues.

“Unfortunately, things are going in the wrong direction. That’s not what we’ve been hoping for. That’s not what we’ve been praying for.”

On Sunday, Lebanese media reported progress toward a new cease-fire agreement in U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon.

“The Lebanese government needs to figure out a way to contain Hezbollah and convince Hezbollah, for the better of the whole nation, that a cease-fire should be brokered and brokered soon,” Melki says.

“Iran, on the other hand, has pulled away from its negotiations with the U.S., which is not a good indicator at all, because that means even those negotiations seem to be stalled and might lead to further confrontation in the entire region.”

In a season where many feel forgotten, we believe that the Gospel is best shared through a ministry of presence.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Christian villages face shortages

Monday was “A very, very violent day in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, as well as in the northern villages of Israel,” Melki says.

“Hezbollah continues to shell Israel using drones and other military means, and Israel continues to retaliate against Hezbollah. We have seen a very high spike in casualties and damage all around.”

Most businesses are closed in southern Lebanon, and essential supplies are hard to find.

“There are a lot of small Christian villages right at the borders between Israel and Lebanon, and they’ve been under a significant economic and military siege. We sent 700 food parcels with the help of the Red Cross to those villages,” Melki says.

Each delivery offers encouragement to believers and a Gospel introduction to those who don’t know Christ. You can support a family in need here.

Pray for an end to the violence in Lebanon.

“Tuesday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 3, a State Department-brokered meeting will take place. Civilian delegates from the Lebanese government and the Israeli government will meet, and we hope that those meetings will turn out a little better,” Melki says.

Header and story images courtesy Heart for Lebanon. 

Who will blink first?

Lana Silk with Transform Iran says, “What we have here is an American side who wants to believe Iran is weakened enough militarily and economically to be more amenable to concessions, and an Iranian side who wants to believe they have enough leverage through their control of the Strait of Hormuz and the US resistance to full-scale war to come out of this with their pride and their objectives intact. But it’s a risky game on both sides.”

Tehran, Iran (Photo courtesy of Khashayar Kouchpeydeh/Unsplash)

Even with negotiations underway, the threat of escalation is still present.

“I believe the critical components of what the US wants from Iran – so stopping sponsoring regional militia, stopping enriching or stockpiling uranium – Iran will never be willing to give. Though it’s also quite possible Iran will say what she has to say in order to get what she wants.”

Silk explains, “We’re also dealing with a Middle Eastern culture here. Preserving honor is extremely important. It would be unthinkable for Iran’s leadership to surrender after such heavy losses internally without something to show for it.”

For Iranian Christians and others living under the ayatollah’s rule, the future feels deeply uncertain.

“From the perspective of the people of Iran and the Church in Iran, without regime change, none of this matters. And if Iran is left with this regime intact, albeit weakened, then we can expect much greater control and oppression internally in the years to come.”

Still, the Church presses on.

(Photo courtesy of Zahra Amiri/Unsplash)

“We keep doing what we have always done,” Silk says. “We pray in faith, we pray with authority, we pray for our leaders on all sides, and we remember that God is not surprised by any of this. He still has good plans for Iran and all the nations caught up in this. So we just do what we do. We share the Gospel courageously and uncompromisingly, [and] we disciple the many who are turning to Jesus.”

Pray for protection and boldness for Iranian believers as tensions continue. Ask God to use uncertainty in the region to draw many Iranians to Christ.

Learn more about Transform Iran at the ministry’s website.

Header image generated with AI.

“We’re back in that doldrum where you have places that are supposed to have thousands of visitors daily – amazing places like Petra and Wadi Rum – which have very few tourists coming; and so that is having a deep effect on a massive swath of the population of Jordan,” Samuel says. 

The dearth hits acutely for more than 300,000 Jordanians whose livelihood is directly tied to tourism, the traffic of which is facilitated primarily by budget airlines. 

“As soon as action happens in our part of the world, those budget airlines shut off and don’t travel,” Samuel points out. “So a part of it is also just trying to communicate that the region is safe again.”

Until the situation cools, a diminished tourism sector will have ripple effects throughout society. In the church’s case, believers will have to grapple with fewer formal outreach opportunities. 

Still, there is a hopeful side of war and its consequences.

“It creates opportunity for more spiritual dependency, and an opportunity in the moment to engage families that are suffering and struggling that maybe weren’t before,” Samuel says. 

In addition to encouraging tourism to Jordan, Samuel calls for people to be the hands and feet of Jesus through partnerships with organizations like Impact Middle East, CRU, and many others serving in the area. 

“One of the deep prayers that I have for Jordan is that the church would be a light in the midst of this dark time, and that they would have wisdom, resources, and courage to show up for their greater community.” 

Wadi Rum, or Valley of the Moon. Courtesy of Lior Dahan. Featured photo courtesy of Ahmad Qaisieh.

Economy Minister Amer Bisat says Lebanon has lost an estimated $2 billion since the beginning of March, approximately 7 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah renewed strikes on Israel on March 2, effectively ending a 2024 ceasefire.

According to analysts, the latest clashes between Hezbollah and Israel are costing Lebanon’s economy up to $100 million a day.

“In October 2023, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into 14 months of war with Israel,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says.

“You add that war, plus what’s going on right now – we’ve been in almost two and a half years of major destruction of the southern part of Lebanon.”

Economic struggles

The latest economic drain couldn’t come at a worse time.

Following the financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon lost approximately 64 percent of its nominal GDP in one of the world’s most severe economic crises since the 19th century. Then, the Lebanese pound collapsed, losing 98 percent of its value practically overnight.

Unfinished reforms, overlapping crises, and widespread destruction in southern Lebanon make sustained recovery nearly impossible.

“You have anywhere between $20 and $22 billion of destruction; so many villages that have been completely wiped out, completely destroyed,” Melki says.

“Recently, the interior ministry in Lebanon declared that over 42 percent of the Lebanese population is living at the poverty line, or even below that.”

Believers’ response

These monumental challenges create more work for Heart for Lebanon.

May strength, comfort, and restoration reach every family navigating the difficulties of this time.
(Photo, caption courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

“We had to add 2,600 new families to our beneficiary list. This is over and above the 5,200 families that we were helping early in 2026, and this is only a drop in the bucket of the needs around us,” Melki says.

Yet more work means more opportunities to share the Gospel, especially as summer begins. Pray for wisdom for ministry leaders. Support a family in need here.

“We are in serious conversations as a management team about some of our programs, how should we shift some, align others? Maybe even create new programs,” Melki says.

“To be more effective and capable, and to reach new territories in Lebanon where IDPs live, we have forged a partnership with 50 local churches. Through those small local churches, we can provide support and the resources they need to love and care for people in their own circles of influence.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon. 

(AI-generated photo by ChatGPT)

Nuna of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “The peace talk is not just military; though, of course, it involves the military side, it’s much more than this.”

As part of the peace talks, U.S. President Donald Trump is urging Lebanon’s government to repeal a 1955 law.

“In our Constitution, there is a [clause] that says Lebanon has no connection with Israel, so we need to change that clause,” Nuna explains.

Under that 1955 law, “everything is very, very closed, and people are not allowed to have any communication with Israelis,” she continues.

“We don’t have the right to have any communication – by phone, by message, anything – with anyone in Israel. [If suspected,] you have to go to Security, where they will ask you questions, take your phone, and check it.”

If negotiations succeed and the Lebanese government normalizes relations with Israel, Nuna says, “Everything will change, not just on the political ground, but it’s going to change the whole face of Lebanon.”

The cost of peace

Although a ceasefire has been in place since mid-April, the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah continues to attack Israel.

Hezbollah flag
(Photo courtesy mhrezaa/Unsplash)

“Hezbollah is affiliated with Iran and wants to keep Iranian influence over Lebanon, but Lebanon is trying to get free from it. The whole contention is between these two,” Nuna says.

Lebanese people remain divided over an alliance with Iran. Though Hezbollah represents approximately one-third of Lebanon’s population – followers of Shia Islam – representatives of other major groups seek peace.

“Lebanon submitted an official complaint against Iran for the first time this week. This is unprecedented,” Nuna says.

Lebanon’s government is taking steps toward peace with Israel and independence from Iran – but at a cost. “The Shiite community is really strong in saying, ‘We don’t want this,’” Nuna says.

“The threats in the streets [are] that ‘We’re going to turn our weapons against all the people who are for the change and for the peace treaty.’ It’s becoming like a civil war.”

Nuna says these threats raise an important question: “Do we go through a civil war so that we can have peace, or do we forget the peace and keep the status quo in Lebanon with Hezbollah in charge?”

Christian aid

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has driven more than one million people from their homes in southern Lebanon. “There are so many displaced people,” Nuna says.

(Graphic courtesy Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

“They have no homes, no shelter, no food, no revenue, no work – nothing. We’re still there to help them, but we’re also trying to talk about this peace.”

Pray for Lebanese Christians as they care for displaced people in Jesus’ name, and partner with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon to support relief efforts.

“We need to not only bring in humanitarian aid, but also talk about God’s purposes and God’s ways and God’s plan, and bring people into alignment with God,” Nuna says.

“It’s not just a one-way Gospel, just salvation and that’s it, it’s also realignment with God’s purposes.”

Header image depicts working-level peace talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)

Hostilities have continued, mostly in southern Lebanon, since U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire on April 16. Israel has set up a self-declared security zone in the south, saying it aims to guard against Hezbollah attacks.

Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says Washington is not an unbiased host for peace negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.

“The U.S. interest is to end conflicts in the Middle East, especially between Israel and its neighboring nations. The U.S.’s desire is that Israel sign a peace agreement with the other neighbors, as it did with Egypt and Jordan,” Melki says.

However, peace won’t come easily in Lebanon, especially amid the war involving Iran. Yesterday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem announced that the terrorist group would not surrender and called for an end to direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.

“How can we even ensure a ceasefire when the ones sitting at the table are not the ones shooting at each other?” Melki asks.

“The Lebanese government is negotiating with Israel, but in fact, it’s Hezbollah that is carrying the gun and shooting at Israel.”

Why the ceasefire is complicated

Although Lebanon’s government agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Israel, several factors have made the truce largely ineffective on the ground.

Hezbollah flag
(Photo courtesy Paul Keller via Flickr)

First, Lebanon’s government does not control Hezbollah. “Hezbollah’s loyalty is to the Iranian regime – the ones who pay the bills, the ones who provide the weapons,” Melki explains.

“A lot of the decision makers among Hezbollah are Iranians as well.”

Second, approximately one-third of Lebanon’s population is Shia Muslim, and that community is represented in Lebanon’s government by officials closely aligned with Hezbollah.

Last week, Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, rejected any peace negotiations without guarantees that ‌Israel would halt attacks.

“The Speaker of the House, though it sounds like he’s speaking on behalf of Lebanon, in fact is representing the Shia population, seeking their best interest and protecting one group, not the entire nation of Lebanon,” Melki says.

“Unfortunately, Lebanon is, though we try not to admit it, a very sectarian nation. The president of the country is always a Christian Maronite, the Speaker of the House is always a Shia Muslim, and the Prime Minister is always a Sunni Muslim,” he continues.

“That’s in our constitution, but it also infiltrates almost every other position in our government.”

How to help

Some 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes in southern Lebanon. Continued conflict won’t stop believers from caring for the displaced.Here’s how you can help.

Pray for Heart for Lebanon teams as they distribute practical aid and Gospel hope.

“It is important that everybody we come in contact with knows and understands what drives us,” Melki says.

“We are sent in with the love of Jesus Christ, sharing it with everyone in need, regardless of their faith, their ethnic background, and their political affiliation.”

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

Praise the Lord for positive developments among Lebanon’s leaders.

“Our Lebanese government recently declared all military activity by Hezbollah illegal. The Lebanese government has declared the city of Beirut arms-free,” Melki says.

“A lot of these decisions that our government is making are new. They’re fresh, they’re encouraging, and they’re promising for a better future for the people of Lebanon.”

Header image courtesy of Heart for Lebanon. 

Tit-for-tat strikes between Hezbollah and Israel have spared Beirut until now. Combat in southern Lebanon lingers despite an April 17 truce agreement.

“Two nations have signed a ceasefire, but here we go again. The conflict continues,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says.

“Though we have a ceasefire, we really don’t have a cessation of fire. Every day, there has been death, there has been destruction.”

U.S. pushes for peace

Diplomacy runs parallel to ongoing violence. The United States confirmed yesterday that it will host new talks between Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors next week.

“Lebanon and Israel, for the first time in decades of conflict, have agreed to sit face to face in negotiations, rather than have a third party mediate the negotiations back and forth,” Melki says.

In past years, “it was always some third party that dragged us into a conflict. Before, it was the [Palestine Liberation Organization]. Now, it’s Hezbollah. Previously, it was the Syrian regime that occupied our territory,” Melki says.

“Right now, the United States and the Lebanese people are seeing hope that, for the first time, the Lebanese government can speak for the citizens of Lebanon, and the Lebanese citizens can decide for themselves.”

Earlier this week, Lebanon’s parliament speaker said there could be no negotiations with Israel until fighting stops. Yet the U.S. continues to push for peace.

Washington’s “best interest is to separate Lebanon from the control of the Iranian regime,” Melki says.

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

Gospel hope and humanitarian help

Continued fighting in southern Lebanon means higher displacement and more people in need. Heart for Lebanon recently added 2,600 new families to its aid roster. Your gifts help the ministry meet increasing costs.

Pray for believers distributing physical help and Gospel hope. “Prayer for wisdom, perseverance, for the ability to focus on what’s more important,” Melki says.

“What’s more important is that the Gospel is spread, the love of Jesus Christ is shared, and the message of encouragement is given alongside all the humanitarian aid that we provide.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon. 

After rejecting Iran’s latest proposal on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump launched “Project Freedom” to guide stranded commercial ships through the strait. Leaders in Tehran call the plan a ceasefire violation and threaten military action.

Is Tehran bluffing? Iran’s missile and drone attacks yesterday on the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally, suggest otherwise. Still, Iran’s messaging, particularly toward the West, is not always straightforward.

“There’s some very clear directives in the Quran in how you are to deal with infidels,” Lana Silk of Transform Iran says.

“Being duplicitous, lying – these are not just allowed, but encouraged, to get your objectives in line with your religious ideologies.”

Citing the U.S. political calendar, Silk says Tehran’s bluster could be for show while Tehran is “playing the long game” with Washington behind the scenes. “Trump is out of time; in a few years, there’s going to be a new president,” she explains.

“So, there has to be a sense in the Iranian regime of ‘Well, if we just wait this out, then things will be back to normal.’”

(Graphic courtesy Transform Iran)

Life in Iran

As events unfold in the Strait of Hormuz, one reality remains in Iran: life is getting more difficult for ordinary people as the war drags on.

People are still buying bread, going to markets, and trying to work. Yet the combination of soaring prices, damaged hospitals, a long internet blackout, fear of renewed strikes, and political repression is making life much harder.

“A lot of what we’re seeing is a physical expression of what is happening in the spiritual domain,” Silk says.

“The Iran situation is an extremely powerful demonic stronghold, and all that’s been happening over the last few months has been an escalation of the war between light and darkness,” she continues.

“Our enemy, the devil, does not want to lose a stronghold; he has been very successful in reaping destruction and death coming out of Iran.”

How to help

Pray Matthew 4:16 over the people of Iran:

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”

Consider partnering with Transform Iran to send urgent relief aid to Iranian Christians. Recent pastoral visits combined encouragement, prayer, and simple, practical help.

Iranian Christians helping people in need.
(This photo is AI-generated by ChatGPT)

Several families who were worried about jobs and injuries told Gospel workers that the Lord had given them fresh peace as they kept praying and fixing their eyes on Jesus. Food package deliveries moved many to tears as Iranians spoke of answered prayers and the clear reminder that God hadn’t forgotten them.

“As Christians, we need to be wise. We need to discern what is happening in the Spirit and get our prayer muscles working, really engaging in the spiritual fight,” Silk says.

“We’ve been told in Ephesians that we are extremely powerful players in this spiritual war, and God has equipped us and given us weapons of warfare… As we unite in prayer, I believe we will see a breakthrough.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Hisham Zayadneh/Pexels.

Iran recently allowed militia groups to carry out operations, including those targeting the U.S., without first getting permission from Tehran. The U.S. is pressuring Iraq to keep Iran’s proxies in check.

“At least [the] Iraqi central government is a little bit stronger in order to fight some of these things,” Samuel* of Redemptive Stories says.

“But I hear [from sources] on the ground, it’s getting closer and closer to another internal armed conflict within Iraq.”

Proxy war

Late last month, Arab neighbors sent Iraq’s government a similar warning: Get control over Iran’s proxies.

(AI-generated by ChatGPT)

“There are PMF factions within Iraq sending small arms forces into the Gulf states, and even into Jordan, on behalf of Iran,” Samuel says.

“That benefits them (Iran) in pressuring the Gulf states, and in particular Jordan, while somehow maintaining ‘plausible deniability’ under international law, similar to the model being used in Lebanon and Yemen.”

Analysts say Iran builds a shield around itself by attacking the U.S. and its allies through proxies. At the same time, it leaves countries like Iraq footing the cost.

“The Iraqi government continues to want Arab normalization with the rest of the nations around it, but it struggles because of the internal factions like the PMF that answer to Tehran, instead of being connected with Baghdad,” Samuel says.

How to help

Iraq’s religious minorities are not immune to the fallout of war. “The civilian and humanitarian costs of this instability are real, but they’re also largely invisible right now, given all that’s going on around it,” Samuel says.

“We’re hearing from brothers and sisters in Erbil that some of their church buildings have been damaged. You hear of Kurds feeling caught between everybody…they just feel like pawns in the middle of everyone’s chess game.”

Pray for Iraqi Christians as they serve the Lord amid escalating tensions.

(AI-generated by ChatGPT)

“As the conflict deepens, we’re seeing believers open their homes, their churches, their networks, to displaced families. Regardless of religion or ethnicity, it is the Church that will continue to stand in this gap to care for [its] neighbor,” Samuel says.

“It’s this time when followers of Jesus move towards the suffering rather than away from it.”

Pray also for the Lord’s will to be done in Iraq.

“We need to continue to pray for peace, that there would be a strong enough government to squelch the PMF and other forces that are attacking the neighboring nations, and that there would be a push out of Iranian influence,” Samuel says.

*Pseudonym

Header and story images are AI-generated by ChatGPT.