Palestinian Christians in Australia (PCiA) today formally condemned the State of Israel’s ongoing military assault on Lebanon, which has displaced more than 1.2 million people — one in every five people in the country — creating one of the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian crises.
PCiA calls on the Australian Government to immediately and publicly condemn the State of Israel’s actions and to uphold its obligations under international law. The Scale of the Disaster
More than 1.2 million people — including 350,000 children — have been displaced by the State of Israel’s attacks since March 2, 2026, making Lebanon’s crisis among the top ten displacement emergencies in the world in recent years.
Lebanon already hosted the highest number of refugees per capita in the world — approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million Syrian refugees and approximately 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA — most living in extreme poverty.
Since the ceasefire of 27 November 2024, the State of Israel conducted near-daily air and drone strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 127 Lebanese civilians according to the UN Human Rights Office. On 18 November 2025, a State of Israel drone strike on Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon killed at least thirteen people, including children.
Then, on 8 April 2026 — hours after Pakistan, the ceasefire mediator, explicitly confirmed that Lebanon was included in the US-Iran ceasefire agreement — the State of Israel launched Operation Eternal Darkness. It struck densely populated civilian areas of Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, and the Beqaa Valley without warning, during morning rush hour, killing at least 303 people and wounding more than 1,165 others.
Statement from PCiA President Suzan Wahhab
“One in five people in Lebanon has been forced from their home. Shelters are full. Children are sleeping in cars on Beirut’s seafront. Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their land in 1948 are being bombed again — this time in the country that was supposed to be their refuge. When the State of Israel then strikes the heart of Beirut hours after a ceasefire has been announced, killing over three hundred people in a single afternoon, it demonstrates that no agreement, no international law, and no civilian life will constrain its military conduct. The Australian Government must do and say more to stop the violence by the State of Israel.” Statement from PCiA Director of Advocacy John Na’em Snobar
” As a former Australian diplomat, I know the Australian Government can do and say more to prevent the violence caused by the State of Israel on Lebanon. Pakistan — the ceasefire mediator — explicitly included Lebanon in the agreement. The State of Israel ignored it and bombed Beirut anyway. We join the Jewish Council of Australia in calling on our Government to publicly condemn this bombing “
PCiA’s Demands
PCiA calls on the Australian Government to:
1.
Immediately and publicly condemn the State of Israel’s ongoing strikes on Lebanon as violations of international law, the UN Charter, and the November 2024 ceasefire agreement.
2.
Suspend all arms exports and military cooperation with the State of Israel until it complies with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
3.
Allocate emergency humanitarian funding for the more than 1.2 million people displaced in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees whose camps have been directly targeted.
About Palestinian Christians in Australia
Palestinian Christians in Australia is the peak advocacy body representing Palestinian Christians in Australia. Our community traces its origins to the first century — to the Palestinian Christians who built the first church of Christ in the land of Palestine. We are the oldest continuous Christian community in the world.
Media enquires
John Na’em Snobar
Mobile: +61 435 059 099
Email: advocacy@palestinianchristians.org.au
Suzan Wahhab
Mobile: +61 412 217 940
Email: join_us@palestinianchristians.org.au