Pope says Lebanese ‘paying price’ for Israel-Hamas war

Pope Francis says Lebanon is “paying a price” for Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, a day after a heavy exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah terror group spread across southern Lebanon.

“I also feel the pain of witnessing once again the great number of innocent people daily losing their lives because of the war in your region, in Palestine and Israel, for which Lebanon is paying a price. Every war leaves our world worse than it was before,” the pontiff says during a meeting with relatives of victims of the massive August 2020 port blast in Beirut.

Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli communities over the past 10 months in support of Hamas, drawing Israeli counterstrikes on southern Lebanon and raising the specter of all-out war on a second front.

The pope also urges “truth and justice” over the catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port four years ago, set off when a large shipment of ammonium nitrate stored there for years caught fire.

Nobody has been held responsible for the blast, which killed more than 220 people, injured at least 6,500 and devastated swaths of the capital. Officials from Hezbollah have been accused of threatening judges investigating the explosion to thwart the inquiry.

“All of us know that the issues are complex and difficult, and that opposing powers and interests make their influence felt. Yet truth and justice must prevail over all else,” Francis says. “Four years have now gone by. The Lebanese people, and you above all, have a right to words and actions that manifest responsibility and transparency.”