Israeli military operations in south Lebanon are focused at the moment on capturing the Shia town of Bint Jbeil, which has symbolic importance for Hezbollah as a historic stronghold of ‘resistance’ against Israel given that Israel was unable to capture it during the 2006 war with Hezbollah. In contrast with the heavy fighting in Bint Jbeil, Israeli forces have not entered three Christian villages located just southwest of Bint Jbeil, but these villages effectively find themselves isolated and caught in the crossfire following the withdrawal of the Lebanese army. These villages are Rmeich, Ein Abel and Debl.
Many residents of the three Christian villages are angry with Hezbollah because they see it as having dragged Lebanon into war.
As the war continues in south Lebanon, there is much debate on the outside about issues such as normalisation of relations between Israel and Lebanon and disarmament of Hezbollah. Many residents of the three Christian villages are angry with Hezbollah because they see it as having dragged Lebanon into war although they may not express this sentiment openly amid their uncertainty about the political future for south Lebanon. Their foremost concern is simply for the region to be spared further war and find a lasting peace.
Below are two interviews (edited and condensed for clarity), the first with a resident of Rmeich conducted on 12 April regarding the situation in the village amid the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The second is an interview with a person from Ain Ebel, also conducted on 12 April and concerning the situation in that village.
(Interview with resident of Rmeich)
Q: Can you provide us with a picture of the situation in the locality in terms of availability of goods, electricity, water and fuel?
A: There is no electricity from the state. We rely on solar power and generator subscriptions for which we pay no less than $100 each month. Water is scarce. As for food goods, they are on the verge of running out, and medicines are also very scarce. This is the picture in truth. There are no fuels available.
Q: And humanitarian convoys have not yet arrived? Have some people fled for Beirut?
A: Only a small amount of aid has arrived: no vegetables or fruits. Only a small number have fled: those who have been compelled to leave for studies or work in Beirut.
Q: Are there NGOs helping you inside the locality?
A: There are NGOs but they cannot enter the area because the roads are broken. We are not alone: you also have Ein Abel and Debl, while Qouzah’s inhabitants are completely displaced, with some of them coming to Rmeich and the rest going to Beirut. And God is capable of managing everything.
Q: What is your message to the Lebanese state and the international community?
A: There must be negotiations for peace and to stop the wars of others on our beloved land and precious homeland.
(Interview with a person from Ain Ebel)
Q: Could you explain the humanitarian and services situation in Ain Ebel since the withdrawal of the Lebanese army?
A: In truth, the army withdrew from us and it was playing the biggest role in delivering humanitarian aid to Ein Abel, for it would accompany the convoys so they could deliver aid to the village. So once the army left, aid is now arriving once in a blue moon. The aid convoys are coming very infrequently and are facing great difficulty in reaching us. From the time the army left us, we have just had WFP [World Food Program] come once and today the ICRC [International Committee for the Red Cross] was able to come. Besides this, no one has been able to pass through.
With regards to electricity, there is a big problem in that we are running out of diesel oil, gasoline and mazout, and we are completely reliant on oil-powered generators.
In terms of the situation, as you have noted, the reason is the military operations around us. There are no military operations inside Ein Abel or Debel but Ein Abel is on the peripheries of Bint Jbeil and for this reason there are military operations on our borders. With regards to the humanitarian situation, food is available thanks to WFP and charitable donations. Some food is available and hasn’t been cut off. But some basic commodities have been cut off, like vegetables and fruits. Drinking water has become scarce: even though the ICRC brought us drinking water today, it has become very scarce. We have an artesian well in the village and filtration that is used to make drinking water by the gallons, but not of the same quality that we normally use.
With regards to electricity, there is a big problem in that we are running out of diesel oil, gasoline and mazout, and we are completely reliant on oil-powered generators. There is no state electricity. And so if we don’t get mazout soon, we will have a problem with lighting and there might be a total blackout in the village. And you could have the same thing in Rmeich and Debel. This would not just be an electricity blackout but also a communication blackout, because apart from a few spots in the village for Internet signal, communication is via Wifi. So there is also a risk of communication blackout if we run out of mazout or something happens to the Wifi, because there is no guarantee that the Wifi will suffice like this.
With regards to medication, it can suffice for around two months. The Malta NGO is still present as well as the Caritas NGO: they have been supplying us the medicines they have. These are the same medicines that we were securing for people with chronic illnesses before the army left, with a stock for two months. There are also medicines in the pharmacy in the village.
Q: Why did the army leave you and do you feel abandoned by the army? What is your position on the fighting in the area?
A: The army left because it does not have the means to fight. We totally understand this issue. We don’t blame them at all because they don’t have the means and equipment ready for a war of this sort. With regards to the political issue, our village is neutral and we don’t speak of politics, especially because in the change of systems you have to watch your step. Whatever is happening in the region, we don’t have a political stance on it right now. We are concerned for our village of course and we want this crisis to pass: that’s it, no more or less.
Q: So in this context the best solution is just negotiations to stop the fighting, right? Also what is the role of the churches in supporting the people of the locality?
We ask for international protection of course, and that we should remain on our land and no one should attack us. Just this, no more or less.
A: 100 percent, we are a peaceful village. We want peace, we just want ourselves and our children to live in peace, and to raise our children in a land that respects them and us, and where we can plan for the future and live in peace.
With regards to the ecclesiastical institutions, in truth, this time they are doing much to help us whether with moral support or aid, whether Caritas, Christian Solidarity, or Nawraj, and even the Papal legate is trying to get aid to us. We feel this ecclesiastical support whether in terms of prayers and establishing rituals for the sake of peace in the peace, or in terms of aid. All of it is reaching us in truth.
Q: What’s your message to the Lebanese state and the international community?
A: Our message is that we are a group of peaceful people. We ask for international protection of course, and that we should remain on our land and no one should attack us. Just this, no more or less. We hope peace will spread through our region and that we will not continue to find ourselves in the same situation or crisis every year or two years. The cycle of violence has not ceased in this region: from the days of our ancestors this violence has persisted in our region. The time has come for us to live in peace.
Published originally on April 15, 2026.
