Maronite Priest Killed in Israeli Strike in Southern Lebanon

A Maronite Catholic priest was killed in an Israeli artillery strike in the southern Lebanese village of Qlaiaa on Monday, as he rushed to aid civilians wounded in an initial attack on a residential home.

Father Pierre al-Rai, the 50-year-old parish priest of Qlaiaa, a predominantly Christian town in the Marjeyoun district, succumbed to injuries sustained when the house was hit a second time. According to Lebanon's National News Agency and local officials, the first shell, fired from an Israeli Merkava tank, struck the outskirts of the village and injured homeowner Clovis Boutros and his wife. Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense teams responded to evacuate the couple to Marjeyoun Governmental Hospital. Moments later, as neighbors including Father al-Rai arrived to assist, along with paramedics, a second strike wounded the priest and three others: Elias Boulos, Paul Fares, and Lilian al-Sayed. The follow-up attack damaged the house and surrounding area. A medical source confirmed Father al-Rai's death shortly after he was transported for treatment.

Qlaiaa, located south of the Litani River about 30 kilometers from the Israeli border, had not previously been directly affected by...