USCCB chairman calls on Trump to back peace, humanitarian aid for Lebanon after massive strikes

(OSV News) — A U.S. bishop is calling for peace and humanitarian aid to Lebanon, where the U.S.-Israel war on Iran has spread with devastating consequences.

“As the United States seeks a negotiated end to the war in Iran, I call on President Trump and the international community to ensure that the people of Lebanon receive greater access to humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies, especially in the south,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles in an April 9 statement.

Bishop Zaidan, speaking in his role as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, said he was “grateful” for a ceasefire among the U.S., Israel and Iran.

That pause came following a last-minute suspension of Trump’s April 7 threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. EDT that day. Trump’s ultimatum was met with widespread outcry in the U.S. and abroad, with Pope Leo calling it “truly unacceptable” from a moral standpoint, let alone international law.

However, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, where the militant group Hezbollah is based, have continued. Israel launched a massive blitz on April 8, after initial reports claimed Lebanon was part of the ceasefire, resulting in more than 300 dead and over 1,000 wounded as strikes hit dense residential and commercial areas without warning.

Bishop Zaidan said he was “disappointed” to learn that “the agreement does not cover Lebanon, and thus falls short of encompassing the entire region where the conflict has been raging.”

On April 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later ordered his Cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanese officials, but stressed that “there is no ceasefire in Lebanon.”

Up to that point, Israel’s government had refused to acknowledge Lebanon’s requests for direct dialogue over a peace plan developed by the French government that would end the war and normalize relations between the two countries.

European nations have denounced Israel’s ongoing campaign in Lebanon, saying it is imperiling the ceasefire the U.S. and Iran reached to open the Strait of Hormuz and give a chance for diplomacy to end the war.

BBC News reported April 9 that the World Health Organization said Lebanese hospitals may run out of critical medical equipment as they work to care for those injured in recent Israeli strikes.

So far, more than 1,700 have been killed in Lebanon amid the war, with over 5,800 wounded, according to the country’s health ministry.

“I acknowledge that the people of Israel have the right to live in peace, as well as the innocent Lebanese civilians who are currently suffering from lack of food, medical supplies, and from paralyzing fear,” Bishop Zaidan said.

He also noted that “distressingly, over one million people, including 370,000 children, have been displaced by the fighting, in what is becoming one of Lebanon’s most acute internal displacement crises in recent history.”

Citing remarks he made in 2024, he said that “for peace in Lebanon to take root, it is imperative that all parties work toward the full and immediate disarming of Hezbollah,” the Iran-backed Shiite militia based in Lebanon, and a dominant military force in that nation.

The bishop also advocated for the “implementation of the U.N. resolutions concerning Lebanon.” Among them is U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, unanimously adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel through a permanent ceasefire and the creation of a buffer zone.

“Hopefully, after that, the governments of Israel and Lebanon can sign an agreement for lasting peace,” said Bishop Zaidan.

In his statement, he quoted an Easter message Pope Leo had issued to Lebanon’s Christians, which was signed on the pope’s behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

“May you, in the midst of feelings of pain, anxiety, and mourning, come to know in your hearts a deeper joy: Jesus has gloriously triumphed over death,” quoted Bishop Zaidan in his statement. “It is a joy that comes from heaven and that nothing can take away.”

Bishop Zaidan added, “May Our Lady of Lebanon, Queen of Peace, pray for her children in Lebanon and for the peace of the entire world.”

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