Lebanon tensions rise after Israeli airstrike kills Lebanese Forces official Pierre Mouawad

Church bells and gunfire marked funeral prayers in Ain Saadeh for Lebanese Forces official Pierre Mouawad and his wife, killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel said it aimed at a Hezbollah militant, but details remain unclear. The deaths have heightened Lebanon tensions over Hezbollah and the wider regional conflict.

Funeral prayers for Lebanese Christian party official Pierre Mouawad and Mouawad’s wife drew large crowds on Tuesday. Church bells rang as gunfire sounds echoed across a mountain valley. The pair were killed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend. The deaths have become a flashpoint in Lebanon’s growing political and sectarian strain.

Pierre Mouawad, Mouawad’s wife and a woman visiting were killed on Sunday in Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut. The strike hit an apartment above them, according to the account given. Israel’s military said it meant to target a Hezbollah militant. The exact circumstances around the strike have remained unclear.

Israel-Hezbollah war tensions in Lebanon after Ain Saadeh strike

The incident landed amid a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group. Lebanon has remained split on the conflict and Hezbollah’s role. Some groups accused Hezbollah of pulling Lebanon into war. The dispute has sharpened as Israel’s campaign continued and Israeli forces entered Lebanon.

Mouawad worked with the local branch of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party opposed to Hezbollah. The party has long called for Hezbollah to disarm. In recent weeks, Lebanese Forces figures blamed Hezbollah for firing rockets at Israel. They said those attacks were linked to Iran’s influence and the regional conflict.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 1,530 people were killed in Israeli strikes since the war resumed last month. More than 1 million people were displaced, according to the same figures. Many fled southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. Those areas are known for Hezbollah support and political influence.

Israel-Hezbollah war displacement fears in host communities

Tensions also rose in Christian, Sunni and Druze-majority areas hosting displaced Shiite families. Residents in these communities feared Hezbollah members might be hiding among civilians. The Shiite community formed Hezbollah’s main base. These suspicions added to friction in towns away from the main front lines.

The coffins of Mouawad and Mouawad’s wife were draped in the white Lebanese Forces party flag. They were carried into St. Simon Church in Yahshoush, north of Beirut. Condolences drew officials, residents and party members in large numbers. Party music from loudspeakers mixed with bells and gunshots.

"They died because Hezbollah dragged us into a war,\" said Lebanese Forces legislator Pierre Bou Assi. Bou Assi called the war an Iranian decision carried out by Hezbollah. \"Nobody among all the Lebanese asked them to start this war,\" Bou Assi said. The comments reflected the party’s long-running position on Hezbollah.

Israel-Hezbollah war investigation and disputed target claims

The Lebanese military said it is investigating the Ain Saadeh incident. Lebanon’s government last month banned Hezbollah’s military activity. The government also banned the presence of Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard members in Lebanon. Even so, the strike deepened anger among groups that felt distant from Hezbollah’s conflict.

Many Lebanese said they expected to be spared because they had no links to Hezbollah. Some were shocked as Israeli attacks targeted neighbourhoods where Hezbollah members lived. Others said Iranian Guard members rented apartments or hotel rooms nearby. These reports increased fear that civilians could be exposed to strikes.

The apartment above the Mouawads was central to competing claims about responsibility and risk. The landlord, the town mayor and the Lebanese military inquiry said no one lived there. However, relatives and the Lebanese Forces insisted a person was staying there. They said that person was the intended target.

\"If that person had died, it would have been better for us,\" said Raymond Mouawad, Pierre’s brother. \"Instead, my brother died while he escaped.\" The dispute over who was in the apartment remained unresolved. The funerals underlined how the Israel-Hezbollah war continued to widen Lebanon’s internal divisions.

With inputs from PTI