<p>Lebanon (MNN) — Life in Beirut seems to carry on after an Israeli airstrike <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-strike-beirut-52c2a1711e274859b60daf8d2db3e0e2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed a top Hezbollah commander</a></strong></span> there last week. Beachfronts and cafes are <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-war-fears-mood-0ff6d28cbedf8fc76a1fffb9dea6ad33" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open and full of people</a></strong></span>, but the normalcy is razor-thin.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>“You&#8217;ll be sitting [or] walking, and you&#8217;ll hear large explosions: it’s Israeli jets breaking the sound barrier over Beirut and over Mount Lebanon,” says Hunter Williamson with <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/lsesd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thimar-LSESD</a></strong></span>. “These are largely just shows of force, but they&#8217;re adding a lot to the anxiety and pressure.”</p>
<p>Ten months of escalating fire between Hezbollah and Israel have taken a deep toll on the people of Lebanon.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you drive just an hour south of Beirut, you really begin to enter a different world. Almost 100,000 people have been displaced over the past several months. You have entire villages deserted, damaged and destroyed,” says Williamson.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>“Both Iran and Israel and Hezbollah have suggested that they still would like to avoid a full scale war. But the situation very much seems to be getting out of hand. There&#8217;s a lot of talk about how people will be able to get out of the country if a larger conflict erupts.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong></p>
<p>This is all just one more challenge the people of Lebanon face on top of crippling economic and political crises of the past several years.</p>
<div id="attachment_206747" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206747" class="size-medium wp-image-206747" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MERATH-Food-Assistance-Relief-and-Development-300x200.png" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MERATH-Food-Assistance-Relief-and-Development-300x200.png 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MERATH-Food-Assistance-Relief-and-Development-768x512.png 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MERATH-Food-Assistance-Relief-and-Development.png 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-206747" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of Thimar-LSESD/MERATH)</p></div>
<p>“Many people were already struggling to get by before this conflict began,” Williamson says. “[It] has added another tremendous amount of weight to already very tired shoulders.”</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.thimar.org/as-war-looms-in-lebanon-god-remains-in-control/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thimar’s staff serves as the hands and feet of Christ as they all look to an uncertain future.</a></strong></span></p>
<p>“Thimar remains committed to Lebanon and to the wider Middle East. We have many different ministries focused on aid and development, on education, on church planting, and building on special needs, education and support,” Williamson says.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“Whether it&#8217;s providing education, whether it&#8217;s providing aid, whether it&#8217;s helping with home rehabilitation, through this Thimar is not only declaring the gospel, but it&#8217;s demonstrating it.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Pray for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. Pray that Christians on the ground will be agents of peace and justice, and that many will come to know Christ through this incredibly difficult time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>Learn more about the ministries of Thimar at <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.thimar.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thimar.org</a></strong></span>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Header photo of damaged building in Beirut, Lebanon is a representative stock photo courtesy of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/destroyed-buildings-in-an-urban-area-6462859/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jo Kassis/Pexels</a></span>.</em></p>

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