Mourners bid farewell to Father Pierre al-Rahi, killed by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon

Record ID: 2363593

  • Title: Mourners bid farewell to Father Pierre al-Rahi, killed by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon
  • Date: 11th March 2026
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QLAYAA RESIDENT, BASIL NOHRA, SAYING: "At first, we lost a very important person in our village, he was the father of all of us in the village. We all relied on him because he was a very brave and strong person. He sacrificed and gave his blood for this village. What happened is that there was a bombing on a house in Qlayaa, there were wounded people,
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Funeral Israel Lebanon Priest Strike War
  • Location: QLAYAA, LEBANON 
  • City: QLAYAA, LEBANON 
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
  • Reuters ID: LVA004301711032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Mourners gathered in southern Lebanon's Qlayaa on Wednesday (March 11) to bid farewell to priest Pierre al-Rahi, who was killed on Monday (March 9) in strikes on southern Lebanon.
    Al-Rahi died of injuries he sustained from Israeli fire, according to medics and first responders.
    Pope Leo lamented his death earlier on Wednesday. He said Rev. Pierre al-Rahi was a "true shepherd" who was killed while trying to offer ⁠aid ​to parishioners who had been injured in ​a strike.
    Lebanon was pulled deep into the war in the Middle East last week, when Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.
    Israel has since launched air strikes across Lebanon's south, east and Beirut's ​suburbs, killing nearly 600 people and uprooting 700,000 more, according to Lebanese authorities.
    (Production : Karamallah Daher, Hassan Hamuda, Jihed Abidellaoui)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register