Catholic agency 'will follow' Lebanon's displaced 'wherever they settle' after ceasefire

(OSV News) -- The head of a Catholic humanitarian agency in Lebanon told OSV News the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire appears to be intact, as he and his team vow to assist those displaced by the conflict "wherever they settle."

"We certainly need more time to assess and observe the on-ground situation, however for the time being, I believe the ceasefire agreement will hold," said Michel Constantin, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Agency-Pontifical Mission in Lebanon and Syria.

CNEWA, established in 1926 by Pope Pius XI to support the Eastern churches, administers the Pontifical Mission, which was founded as the Pontifical Mission for Palestine by Pope Pius XII in 1949 to care for Palestinian refugees. The mandate of the mission, which was subsequently placed under CNEWA's direction, has been extended by several pontiffs to care for all those affected by war and poverty in the Middle East.

In a Nov. 28 email to OSV News, Constantin described the immediate impact of a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France between Israel and the Lebanese-based militant group Hezbollah, announced by the White House Nov. 26.

Under the terms of the ceasefire -- which took effect Nov. 27 and which essentially recaps the 2006 U.N Resolution 1701 that ended the previous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah -- fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will halt in what President Joe Biden called a "permanent cessation of hostilities."

Over the 60 days following the ceasefire start, Lebanon's army and state security forces will retake control of southern Lebanon from the so-called "Blue Line" (the unofficial Israel-Lebanon border) up to the Litani River -- ensuring Hezbollah infrastructure is not rebuilt -- as Israel gradually withdraws its forces. Civilians on both sides of the border will be allowed "to return safely to their communities" and begin rebuilding, the president said.

The ceasefire aims to address one front of the Israel-Hamas war, which was launched in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when militants from the Gaza Strip gunned down more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took over 240 civilians and soldiers hostage. In September, the conflict extended into Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Shia militia Hezbollah is based.

The U.S. and France will monitor the implementation of the ceasefire, which does not apply to Israel's war with Hamas.

Despite Israeli airstrikes on Dec. 1 and 2, Hezbollah has not yet indicated it intends to abandon the ceasefire, although media reports suggest that the deal may be weakening. Both sides have already accused each other of breaching the agreement.

Constantin told OSV News that after the ceasefire took effect at 4 a.m. local time Nov. 27, "the scenery was a repetition of 2006," when Israel and Hezbollah clashed in a 34-day war.

Israel has urged displaced residents from Lebanon's south to refrain from returning to their villages for now, and has imposed a daily curfew for those crossing the Litani River.

Yet Constantin told OSV News that displaced families, particularly Shia Muslim households, "left their temporary settlements and moved back to their destroyed homes and villages," describing the effort as an "emotional move" that "will certainly face big difficulties," given the estimated 100,000 houses he said were damaged or destroyed in villages with ruined infrastructure, social service facilities and businesses.

Some 30 southern villages "have almost 90 percent destruction," and "unexploded rockets and shells represent a danger to the returnees," said Constantin.

He noted that "as for the Christian villages, the destruction level is much lower than the Shiite villages," with "only 4 to 5 villages" of the 15 such along the Israel-Lebanon border "totally abandoned."

"For example, in Alma El Shaab village, which is considered among the most affected Christian villages, we have 65 houses out of 350 houses destroyed and the remaining were damaged but could be repaired and inhabited in a short time," Constantin said.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah displaced an estimated 1.2 million people in Lebanon.
CNEWA-Pontifical Mission's main goal is "to follow the inhabitants wherever they settle," despite uncertainty as to how the ceasefire actually unfolds, he said.

"Our priority is trying to help the families to return to normal life and help the church institutions, namely schools and social centers, to get back to normal activities," said Constantin.

Education is among such activities, although "9 Catholic schools located on the border might need urgent help with rehabilitation, support with heating fuel, and certainly support to be able to pay the teachers' salaries, as most returnees cannot afford to pay tuition fees," he said.

From a political perspective, he said, "the big concern now is whether Hezbollah will accept the reality that all (its) remaining arms cannot be used against Israel, and it failed to prevent Israel from attacking Lebanon and destroy(ing) the military infrastructure of Hezbollah and kill(ing) its … leadership."

Constantin pointed out that Hezbollah's remaining arms could pose a threat to Lebanon's "political mosaic," and could "lead to an internal intense perturbation and potentially to a civil war."

Such a move would deepen long-running socioeconomic difficulties for Lebanon, which has also been home to an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees fleeing their nation's repression and political instability.

Constantin said that more time is needed "to have a clearer visibility of the situation and to assess all damages," citing the World Bank's November 2024 finding that damages in Lebanon due to the conflict total more than $8 billion.

Yet "so far, there is no clue who would finance the reconstruction," said Constantin. "The Lebanese government is in a state of default and in deep economic and financial crisis, it cannot even participate in this process."