Whenever the word Middle East is mentioned, conflict comes to mind. The situation in the Middle East has remained critical since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict started. War is kindled now and then, whether in 1948, 1967, or lately on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an assault on Israel, crossing the heavily fortified border from Gaza and taking an estimated 200 hostages into Gaza. The attack occurred amid long-standing tensions between Israel and Hamas, rooted in disputes over territory, sovereignty, and the blockade of Gaza. The Israeli government vowed to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities, leading to an escalation of violence. The conflict resulted in significant casualties in Gaza, with thousands killed, including many civilians. Till now, civilians in Gaza are on the receiving end of violence. The conflict escalated into a prolonged war, with both sides suffering immense losses and devastation. The humanitarian situation in Gaza became catastrophic, drawing international calls for a ceasefire and aid.
The attack on Hamas raised broader regional conflict, involving actors like Hezbollah in Lebanon who aligned with Palestinian factions, and this led to the attack on Lebanon. On September 27, 2024, Israeli airstrikes targeted and killed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah. Following the assassination, Israel conducted an extensive bombing campaigns across Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah positions and infrastructure. On October 1, 2024, Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon, aiming to dismantle Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
A ceasefire was established on November 27, 2024, requiring Hezbollah to cease military activities in southern Lebanon and Israel to withdraw its forces within 60 days. Despite violations from both sides, the truce has largely held.
Israeli military operations in Lebanon during 2024 resulted in 3 002 deaths and 13 492 injuries. The World Bank reported that Israeli strikes had partially or completely destroyed approximately 100 000 homes across Lebanon during the conflict, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. The extensive damage to infrastructure, including residential buildings, roads, and public facilities, has placed additional strain on Lebanon’s already fragile economy and deepened the humanitarian crisis in the country.
The conflict has cast a shadow over daily life, causing widespread destruction, casualties, and displacements, and placing severe strain on essential services. Displaced families, many with children, fled to safer areas seeking refuge after losing their homes.
Just as a ceasefire happened in Lebanon, Syria faced a crucial juncture following the ousting of the Assad regime after 50 years of isolation and a 13-year civil war. The country is striving for stability and reconciliation amidst its dire circumstances. Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction, faces immense challenges in honouring promises to protect minorities, manage refugee returns, and establish a functioning government. Our churches in Syria are facing a transitional time, where they’re celebrating the change of the regime but are concerned about the future.
The question of hope remains a daily challenge that the church faces in this region, whether in Lebanon, Syria, or Israel and Palestine. Even though the church and the Lebanese civilians were against the war with Israel, they had to face it. How to remain hopeful and not to give up is central to living our faith in the Middle East. As a church that has faced several wars, we believe that violence does not bring peace or reconciliation – only dialogue does. The church will remain the bridge of dialogue and will never accept death, no matter on whose side we stand. We learned that to have hope is to have a role in facing the pain and struggle of the people. To live hope is to stay focused on providing a better tomorrow for all humans and to serve the suffering people especially those who pay the price for political agendas and ambitions.
Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian writer, says:
The wars will end, and the leaders will shake hands, and that old woman will remain waiting for her martyred son, and that girl will wait for her beloved husband, and the children will wait for their hero father. I do not know who sold the land, but I know who paid the price.
The church’s role is to take care of those who pay the price. This provides hope for the church. This role encourages and puts the church on the right track. Amid the crisis, the humanitarian arm of our church, Compassion Protestant Society (CPS,) strived to provide humanitarian support, working tirelessly to uplift communities and nurture hope – even in the darkest of times.
The church provided emergency meal distribution of hot meals to vulnerable families taking refuge in collective shelters. We also provided shelters to families to have a place to stay and preserve the dignity of all the hosted families in a safe and supportive environment. Mental health support and trauma-informed psychosocial support were provided to children who have been displaced to give them the essential support to cope with their experiences.
As we think of hope and how to achieve it in the Middle East, we are called to deal with the now, with the suffering of all humans on all sides of the war. I have shared the suffering from the Lebanese point of view, I am sure there is a lot of suffering on the other side whether it is on the Palestinian or the Israeli side. Fred Craddock, the well-know preacher, said in one of his sermons that hope is many times presented as a cushion word, a term for postponing things. Hope starts with the now, with dealing with daily issues. It is dealing with the current situation and not the future.
In a recent International Meeting of Prayer for Peace, in Rome, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew, said that we live in a common home. This home is like the house of mirrors where whenever we look at ourselves in the mirror, we see the image of our brother and sister and we see the work of the divine Presence in every human being. As we see the image of the suffering reflected in our image, we discover hope in living together and reflecting in each other’s image. Hope in Christ invites us to this room of mirrors where we see others and we see their pain. Today the biggest sin that we could face in our life, is the sin of indifference in this room of mirrors. The revelation of the children of God where the restoration of humankind to its true calling: Caring and preserving God’s creation (Gen 2: 15).
To live with hope in the Middle East today, is to cling to this attitude of caring for all who suffer. This position lessens hatred and helps us to see the suffering of all and try to provide fullness of life for all. In the words of John 10: 10: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. If we want to live in hope, we are called to speak against violence, to speak against flooding the regions with weapons, to stand with all who suffer and try to unveil injustice and encourage dialogue and not violence and exclusion of others.
The door for hope in the Middle East remains the solving the Palestinian tragedy, injustice and occupation and working towards the dignity of the Palestinians and their rights besides the safety of all the people in the region. We hope that the children and youth in the Middle East will dream of staying in the Middle East and not have to endure the nightmares.
GF Watts’ painting, entitled “Hope” portrays the image of a woman sitting upon a globe, blindfolded, with an instrument in her arms that appeared to have lost all of its strings but one. The picture shows pain, fear, and discouragement. The strings are not in place and are broken, and only one string is left. Still, the woman insists on holding on to that string instrument. It did not matter to her that the instrument was not as complete as it was initially constructed to be. Still, the women insist on continuing to play on the one string left. The one string could give the instrument its integrity and give the woman the ability to make beautiful music. That one string provided hope that there was still the promise of a different future for her and her instrument. One string could make a tune, probably not the perfect tune, but it is a tune that gives hope. No matter whether we are a majority or a minority, we can produce a tune. It is a different tune to that of the world, but it does make a difference. Hope is in our midst; we are called to preserve it in our witness and to worship not inside of our buildings but on the streets where we see the suffering of the people and where our tune is heard.
