Tensions are rising amongst the Maronite Christian community in the village of Jish in northern Israel which is now on the frontline after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) evacuated everybody who lives between the village area and the Lebanese border which is only 4.6 kilometres away.
The IDF is braced for war along Israel’s northern frontier as Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants maintain regular rocket assaults on Israel. Maronite community leader Shadi Khaloul told CBN News: “The Hezbollah today also have drones. They have precision-guided missiles. They have 80,000 fighters with elite units well-trained in Syria’s civil war, ten years with Wagner force in Syria, with Iranian forces. So we know that they are very dangerous because they have a very radical Islamic Shia ideology.”
The Christians can leave at their own expense, but many have decided to stay, trusting in the IDF and in God to keep them safe. Mr. Khaloul explained: “This is not an existential threat only for Israel – Hezbollah terrorists are an existential threat to the Maronites here in Israel and to any other population in Israel as Israelis, and to the Maronites in Lebanon too, because [Hezbollah] want to turn Lebanon into an Islamic State.”
CBN News which visited the village reports that the IDF is preparing to protect the Maronite community if all-out war breaks out, with emergency shelters and essential supplies. Home Front Command is also working to ensure their safety with bomb shelters set up to provide refuge for those at risk.
The Maronite Christians in Jish have a long history of persevering through adversity. “Well, we’re still gathering in our church as usual, albeit with maybe a bit of a larger number,” one priest explained. “We are peaceful people. We pray for peace. We want peace. We want the war to come to an end. And we pray for that purpose.”
