2024 Derdghaya Melkite Church airstrike
This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.On 9 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike on the St. George Melkite Catholic Church in the village of Derdghaya,[1] in Southern Lebanon, as part of the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.[3] As a result of the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, 1.2 million Lebanese citizens have been displaced from their homes.[2] Another missile hit a priests house and a three-story building which had the parish offices, completely destroying them as well.[6] On 11 October 2024, Pope Francis released two statements on Twitter stating,[7] All nations have the right to exist in peace and security.May they soon be able to return and live in #Peace.The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, issued a statement that same day saying “We will not surrender to events that seem to drive us apart, but we will always seek to be thirsty builders of peace and justice.”[3]