The mayors of five Christian villages along Lebanon’s southern border have appealed to the country’s Catholic Church leaders for urgent support, warning that residents are struggling to maintain a future on their land amid Israeli occupation, destruction and shortages of basic supplies.

In a letter issued on Monday to the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon, which is holding its annual meeting in Bkirki, the mayors of Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil, Qouzah and Alma al-Shaab outlined 10 demands aimed at helping residents remain in their villages and enabling those who have fled to return “safely and with dignity.”

“Help us make staying on our land a choice of life based on security, dignity, work and hope, rather than an anxious wait in uncertainty,” they wrote.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said on Sunday that he had received the mayors’ appeal ahead of the Council’s annual session. In his homily at Bkirki, he described the 10 demands as “urgent and legitimate” and pledged that the letter would feature prominently in the Council’s week-long deliberations.

“We are writing to you from villages that have come to wonder if they still have a future,” the mayors said.

Most residents have remained in their communities despite severe shortages of food and medical supplies, the continued Israeli occupation and extensive destruction. Two of the villages, Qouzah and Alma al-Shaab, have been completely evacuated.

Safe access and conditions for return

The mayors’ first priority is to secure the roads serving Rmeish, Ain Ibl and Dibil, allowing residents to travel safely to hospitals, schools and markets and return to their homes.

They also called for weekly visits to Alma al-Shaab to resume as soon as security conditions permit, so residents can inspect their homes and recover their belongings.

The letter urges the voluntary return of displaced residents, particularly those from Yaroun, Qouzah and Alma al-Shaab, and calls for temporary housing or rental assistance for families unable to return immediately.

The mayors also want essential services restored, schools supported and farmers, small-business owners and craftspeople helped to resume their work. They called for a comprehensive assessment of damage, a fair and transparent compensation mechanism for those affected, and assistance with reconstruction.

Healthcare, churches and heritage sites

On healthcare, the officials called for the gradual reopening of Ain Ibl Hospital, with emergency services available around the clock, as well as assistance to cover hospital costs. They also urged authorities to provide better equipment for the Rmeish medical center and its Civil Defense unit.

The appeal highlighted the need to protect churches and heritage sites, particularly the church in Qouzah. An image circulated on social media on Oct. 28 showing an Israeli soldier standing in front of the building triggered widespread anger and fears that the church could be destroyed.

To coordinate the response, the mayors proposed that the Council establish a commission, in cooperation with the apostolic nuncio and with the participation of Caritas Lebanon, to organize aid and monitor the implementation of their demands.

They also called on Church leaders to intensify their efforts with the Lebanese state, the Holy See and the United Nations to prevent a security or humanitarian vacuum in southern Lebanon after the gradual withdrawal of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), scheduled to begin in 2027.

Addressing the Council, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Paolo Borgia, who has led several humanitarian convoys to villages where residents have remained in recent months, said the appeal from southern Lebanon could not be ignored.

“It cannot go unanswered: it requires concrete interventions and initiatives of solidarity from all of us,” he said.