Many members of the Russian-speaking Orthodox community in Lebanon, particularly in the southern part of the country and in Beirut, have been forced to leave their homes due to attacks on the city, reported Archimandrite Philip (Vasiliev), the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow in the Antiochian Patriarchate. According to RIA Novosti, there are currently no casualties among community members, although many have had to relocate to other areas.

“Members of the Russian-speaking Orthodox community live throughout Lebanon. Many of those who lived in the south and in Beirut have had to leave their homes and move to other parts of the country. At the moment, there are no casualties among our community members. At each service, we pray for peace in the long-suffering land of Lebanon, which has once again been engulfed in war,” Archimandrite Philip told reporters.

The community regularly holds services at the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in Jal El Dib, provided by Metropolitan Silouan. The archimandrite noted that this area has not been affected so far, unlike southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, which are undergoing intensive bombings.

The issue of assisting affected community members, he emphasized, remains one of the most important, but the small parish finds it challenging to provide significant support to those in need due to its limited resources. Nevertheless, the parish remains in constant contact with the embassy and the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of the Russian Federation in Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, Archimandrite Philip assured.

Since October 1, Israel has been conducting a ground operation against Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and continues its airstrikes on the neighboring country, where over a thousand people have already died, including leaders of the Shiite movement, and more than 90,000 have become refugees. The main goal of Israel’s military campaign is said to be creating conditions for the return of 60,000 residents from the north who were evacuated due to shelling that began a year ago by Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian Hamas movement.