Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire met with ‘profound hope’ by US bishops

The US bishops have said they receive the news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah with “profound hope”. They have urged all parties in the Middle East to continue efforts towards broader peace.

Their comments came on 27 November, the day the ceasefire in Lebanon was announced, just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

“It is in a spirit of profound hope that I welcome news that, after more than a year of fighting and thousands of deaths, a ceasefire has been agreed upon by Israel and Hezbollah,” Bishop Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, and Chair of the Committee on International Justice and Peace for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said in a statement.

“As we rejoice in this opportunity for peace to take root, I urge all parties, as well as the broader international community, to remain vigilant and to continue working toward the consolidation of peace in the region through the disarmament of Hezbollah and the full implementation of the UN resolutions concerning Lebanon; this will lead to Lebanon regaining its full sovereignty and independence.”

Zaidan also applauded the United States for its “crucial peace-building role” that helped make the ceasefire possible.

The ceasefire began at 4 a.m. on 27 November following 14 months of fighting, which initially started as cross-border skirmishes before escalating to a ground assault by Israel accompanied by the ferocious use of air support.

The ceasefire starts with an initial two-month halt to the fighting. It requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, and Israeli troops to return to their side of the border.

Beyond the US bishops, the news was also welcomed by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), which is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

“We pray that it holds,” Elizabeth Funnell, CAFOD’s country representative for the Middle East said in a statement. “[The ceasefire] means that over a million people, who have been displaced by the conflict, can begin to return to their homes in Lebanon and northern Israel and start the long task of rebuilding their lives.”

Funnell also noted that now it’s “imperative” that similar diplomatic efforts are put into a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to stop the suffering in Gaza.

Zaidan expressed a similar sentiment.

“I pray that this ceasefire proves to be a beacon of real hope, and that it inspires greater ambitions for a lasting peace in the Middle East on all fronts, especially in the dire situation in Gaza,” the bishop said.

“I join in solidarity with Pope Francis, who, in October, called for a ceasefire, saying, ‘Let us pursue the paths of diplomacy and dialogue to achieve peace’.”

Photo: A line of cars crawl past a destroyed building in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, Beirut, Lebanon, 27 November 2024. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images.)

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