Iraq-based prominent Shia Islam scholar, Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali al-Sistani, has expressed strong solidarity with Lebanon following the recent deadly Israeli airstrikes on the country. In a statement on Monday, Sayed Sistani condemned the intensified Israeli attacks, particularly those targeting densely populated areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. He urged for immediate and decisive action to halt the ongoing aggression and protect Lebanese civilians, many of whom have been displaced by the escalating violence.

Sayed Sistani highlighted the extensive destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes, which have killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians so far, displacing tens of thousands from their homes. The Grand Ayatollah emphasized the need for urgent efforts to end these hostilities and protect Lebanon from further harm. He also prayed for the safety of the Lebanese people, offering condolences to the families of those killed and wishing a swift recovery for the injured.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s official statement:

In the name of God, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful

In these difficult days that the respected Lebanese people are going through, as they are increasingly exposed to the brutal aggression and their savage methods, which include causing large numbers of personal communication and other devices to explode, targeting homes crowded with citizens, even women and children, and launching intensive raids on dozens of villages and towns in the south and the Beqaa, which so far has resulted in the martyrdom and wounding of large numbers of heroic resistance fighters and other innocent civilians and the displacement of tens of thousands from their homes. The Supreme Religious Authority expresses its solidarity with its dear Lebanese people. It offers its condolences to them for their great suffering, raising its hands in supplication to God Almighty to protect them and repel from them the evil of the wicked and the plots of the evildoers, and to include their righteous martyrs among those in divine mercy and pleasure, and grant the wounded and injured a speedy recovery.

As such, the Supreme Religious Authority calls for every possible effort to stop this ongoing barbaric aggression and protect the Lebanese people from its devastating effects, and for all believers to contribute in any way to alleviate their suffering and secure their humanitarian needs.

May God protect Lebanon and its dear people from all harm and misfortune.

Office of Sayyid al-Sistani (may God preserve him)
Najaf al-Ashraf
19 Rabi al-awwal1446 AH/ 23 September 2024

Lebanon’s caretaker Health Minister, Firass Abiad, reported that the Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of at least 558 people, including 55 children and 94 women. The attacks have also wounded more than 1,835 people, targeted medical centers, and disrupted evacuation efforts, with ambulances and cars coming under fire. As a precaution, schools and nurseries in affected areas have been temporarily closed.

International condemnations of Israeli aggression on Lebanon continue to grow, with global leaders expressing concern over the violence and warning of a potential regional war. The United Nations has expressed deep concern over Israel’s escalation on Lebanon, warning of a potential spillover of violence across the region. UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani remarked that the ongoing exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah marks a dangerous escalation in the conflict. This recent surge in violence follows the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, which has already claimed over 41,000 Palestinian lives in Gaza since October last year.