Hezbollah urges Pope Leo to decry Israeli strikes on Lebanon during official visit
Hezbollah urges Pope Leo to decry Israeli strikes on Lebanon during official visit
M.U.H
30/11/202510
The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has called upon Pope Leo XIV to condemn the ongoing Israeli “injustice and aggression” against Lebanon despite a ceasefire that took effect last year.
“We in Hezbollah take advantage of the occasion of your auspicious visit to our country, Lebanon, to reaffirm from our side our commitment to coexistence,” read Hezbollah’s message to the pope, published on the group’s social media channels on Saturday.
It also reiterated the group's dedication to supporting the Lebanese army and nation in confronting any aggression against or occupation of their land.
The resistance movement noted that what Israel “is doing in Lebanon is unacceptable ongoing aggression.”
“We rely on your holiness’s stance in rejecting the injustice and aggression our nation of Lebanon is subjected to at the hands of the Zionist invaders and their supporters,” the statement added.
The statement comes as Pope Leo XIV is going to visit Lebanon over the weekend. He is reportedly set to meet civil and religious authorities, visit mosques and ancient churches, pray at Beirut’s port in memory of the victims of the 2020 explosion, and hold a private meeting with President Joseph Aoun.
The pontiff is also going to plant a cedar at the presidential palace in Beirut, and offer prayer at the tomb of St Charbel and before the statue of Our Lady of Lebanon.
During a speech on Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem welcomed the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon. He mentioned that members of the group had been assigned to deliver a letter to the pope, which would also be shared publicly through the media.
He emphasised that his group has adhered to the ceasefire agreement established in November 2024, and called for a halt to the ongoing Israeli attacks on the nation.
“We welcome this visit at this pivotal moment, and we pray that the Holy Father will contribute to spreading peace in Lebanon, liberating it, ending the (Israeli) aggression, and standing by it and by the oppressed, as we have always known him to do,” Sheikh Qassem highlighted.
Israel and the Hezbollah resistance movement reached a ceasefire agreement that took effect on November 27, 2024. Under the deal, Tel Aviv was required to withdraw fully from the Lebanese territory, but has kept forces stationed at five sites, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the terms of last November’s agreement.
Since the implementation of the ceasefire, Israel has violated the agreement multiple times through repeated assaults on the Lebanese territory.
Lebanese authorities have warned that the Israeli regime’s violations of the ceasefire threaten national stability.
