‘No safe place anymore’ for Lebanon Baptists as Israeli-Hezbollah war escalates
By Diana Chandler - Posted at Baptist Press:
Published April 10, 2026
“Beyond the numbers, a profound human crisis is emerging. Families are still trying to locate those unaccounted for, while many are now grieving unimaginable loss,” Thimar said. “Among the most heartbreaking realities is the number of children left without parents in a single afternoon, as the scale and intensity of the strikes shattered entire households.”BEIRUT (BP) – Baptists in Lebanon are suffering the escalation of Israel’s war with Hezbollah, as the war zone has expanded to include areas surrounding Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) and the Beirut Baptist School (BBS), both founded by Southern Baptists.
“It feels like there is no safe place anymore,” ABTS President Wissam Nasrallah told Baptist Press April 10. “(The April 8) bombings marked a clear turning point in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. For the first time, the strikes systematically reached areas of Beirut and its outskirts that had until now been widely perceived as relatively safe, including Sunni neighborhoods, as well as a Christian area near ABTS.”
At least 303 were killed and more than 1,150 injured in a single day of Israeli strikes on heavily populated areas of Lebanon April 8, the Lebanon Health Ministry reported April 9. On Easter, at least three Christians were killed in Israeli strikes on Ain Saadeh, a majority Christian town near Beirut previously considered safe amid the war, Nasrallah said.
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