A wooden cross hanging next to the electricity wires in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut. (Photo: Aid to the Church in Need)
An aid worker in Beirut, Lebanon, has described a deepening sense of fear and emotional exhaustion among civilians in Lebanon after a wave of bombardments hit the capital, leaving many residents feeling that nowhere is safe.
Marielle Boutros, a project coordinator for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), said the latest attacks have shaken people who were already worn down by years of conflict and economic hardship.
Her comments came after a major round of Israeli strikes on Beirut on April 8, in which no less than 254 people were killed and over 2,000 wounded.
According to Ms Boutros, over 100 bombs struck different parts of the city overnight, affecting not only areas in the south but multiple parts of the capital.
Ms Boutros, who lives and works in eastern Beirut, said many residents had thought they were secure inside their own homes, particularly in neighbourhoods that had not previously been hit.
Instead, she said, the strikes spread panic across the city and destroyed what little sense of normal life remained.
She told ACN News: “It was scary, it caused anger, it caused sadness especially when you hear a ceasefire is happening elsewhere. It was really tragic.”
The latest escalation followed a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicating that military operations against Hezbollah would continue despite a ceasefire announcement between the US and Iran on April 7.
A ceasefire arrangement between Hezbollah and Israel that had been in place since 2024 reportedly collapsed on February 28. Since then, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reports that over 1,800 people have died, among them about 120 children, with another 6,000 people reported injured.
Fighting has also intensified in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops have emptied large areas of villages near the border as part of efforts to establish control over the area.
The Lebanese Army pulled out of Rmeich and Ein Ebel – two Christian villages now expected to fall within Israel’s buffer zone – on 31 March.
Ms Boutros said the human toll goes beyond physical destruction. She described the emotional burden of checking whether loved ones are alive while knowing that hundreds of other families are grieving.
She said, “You don’t feel safe. Some of the victims were in their houses, in a secure and comforting place, and they were bombed. You have to cope with your anxiety, fears and guilt that have developed over the last few years. For me, this is the worst thing – when you are relieved that it’s not your family but you have families on the ground dead.
“We have this pressure to continue our daily life because you cannot afford not to because of the economic crisis. We are not fine. We are surviving but in the heart of each one of us we want this nightmare to end in some way.”
Ms Boutros warned that the conflict is also threatening essential services, especially in the south of the country.
Aid to the Church in Need is currently involved in several relief efforts, including food distribution, medical assistance, fuel support for displaced families sheltering in church centres, and trauma care for children.
She said that the charity is particularly concerned about the continued disruption to education.
“This is a real emergency,” she said.
Many schools in southern Lebanon are no longer functioning in person, with some attempting to continue online.
“Teachers need to be paid,” she said, adding that another prolonged interruption would be devastating for children who have already endured repeated school closures since 2019, including during the Covid-19 pandemic and Lebanon’s financial crisis.
Ms Boutros said: “The school system in Lebanon is very important for the population as it’s a strength for Lebanese people. After their graduation they go out of the country to pursue their studies and many come back. They cannot afford to close.
“For the Church too it’s very important as it’s where catechism takes place. It’s a place for missions, for preaching, for transferring Christian values and living those values.
“These are key elements for society here.”
She ended with an appeal for prayer, saying that many in Lebanon feel they are reaching the limits of what they can endure.
Even so, she said: “After all, our God is a God who was resurrected. He defeated death. We can rely on such a God.”
