The violations have been acknowledged but not resolved. Yet that may be changing. 

Last week, the still-armed Hezbollah urged Lebanon’s government not to negotiate further with Israel. Israel responded by ramping up strikes in southern Lebanon against what it says were Hezbollah targets.

Hezbollah fighters train in southern Lebanon, May 2023. (Photo courtesy of Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia Commons)

Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon explains the escalation is something to take seriously. 

“It means that if Hezbollah doesn’t give up the weapons, we’re going to have another war,” Nuna says.

“If Hezbollah keeps the weapons, Israel has said it very bluntly that ‘We will not allow it.’ They will have a war again until they completely destroy Hezbollah.”

Lebanon’s government pledged this summer to implement a disarmament plan against Hezbollah, with the goal of completion by the end of the year. It has already taken steps toward this goal, but Hezbollah says it will not disarm.

“The government says something, Hezbollah says something else, and nobody says anything about it. Nobody is keeping Hezbollah responsible [for] their acts,” says Nuna.

That shows a fear of Hezbollah’s weapons, which Nuna says is understandable. A civil war is no solution to the conflict. 

“But at the same time, this solution must be found, because we cannot keep Lebanon hostage [to] the will of one small party [Hezbollah] in Lebanon,” says Nuna. 

Hope for restoration

With Hezbollah and Israel on opposite sides and the clock for 2025 ticking, the conflict is coming to a head. 

“We cannot do anything about it, except pray and ask that the Lord will have mercy on Lebanon and find a solution,” Nuna says.

Beirut House of Prayer gathering October 9-11, 2025 (Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

During a 50-hour prayer gathering in Beirut last month, believers prayed for Lebanon’s restoration. 

“I think we felt the Lord was saying, ‘I’m sending my arrows, and when the arrows hit the ground, it will shake the nation,’” Nuna shares. “We are seeing a shaking now. Is it easy to be in the shaking? No, but we don’t want to stay in the status quo in any way.”

Pray for God to reshape Lebanon for His good purposes during this tense time of upheaval. Pray that for the entire Middle East as well. 

“Look at the new era for Syria now, with the presidency in the US, with France, with the accords that are starting to shape with Israel — the Abrahamic Accords. All these things. Something is changing in the whole region,” says Nuna. “So let’s pray that the Lord who is in the business of changing the Middle East will do it according to His plans, and He will not allow any of man’s plan to succeed.”

*Pseudonym

Header photo: Beirut, Lebanon (Stock photo courtesy of Muhammed Beyrouti via Unsplash)

(Photo of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Jo Kassis/Pexels)

Just over a year ago, former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli strike — an event that reshaped power dynamics. Now, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has brought temporary relief to the region.

Yet next door, Lebanon is in a fragile state as Hezbollah refuses to disarm.

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “There is an agreement and everybody – the whole government now – has decided that Hezbollah needs to disarm. The international community is for that, so everything is going towards that end. But at the same time, Hezbollah is not willing to.”

Many Lebanese are weighed down by instability and disillusionment. “So many people are depressed,” Nuna says. “So many people are skeptical. So many people are in disbelief and in hopelessness…. So many people are feeling like it’s better for us to leave.

“It is strategic to pray at this time. We really want God to just show His power.”

As Lebanon grapples with transition, pray that the nation’s leaders will act with wisdom to stabilize the country. Pray for the Church to be a source of Christ’s hope and healing.

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

Nuna says, “We’re seeing all these shifts in whole nations, and we’re just there asking God to release His glory and to have people’s eyes see His glory because it’s a really difficult time at this time.”

Learn more about Triumphant Mercy at tm-lebanon.com.

Header photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beiteddine_-_drapeau_libanais.jpg

It is a long-awaited step toward a broader peace deal to the two-year war. But Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says candidly, “This peace treaty that is in the Middle East, I’m not so sure it’s going to stand. I think it’s a false peace, but at least it will give us a bit of a relief for a time.”

Significant questions remain about Gaza’s government, Hamas’s disarmament, and Israel’s military presence in Gaza.

In a beautiful “coincidence” only God could have arranged, believers from Lebanon and around the world have gathered today to pray for the Middle East. Months ago, the Beirut House of Prayer planned a 50-hour international assembly for October 9-11.

“We will be praying day and night, with people rotating and praying and worshiping and just asking the will of God for not only this nation, but also the whole Middle East,” says Nuna.

“It’s [a] strategic time for Syria, for Turkey, for Jordan, for Lebanon, for the Palestinians, for Egypt, for all these areas here. We’re coming and pouring our hearts before God, asking for His will and for the knowledge of His glory to be released in these nations.”

Nuna says these Muslim, Jewish, and nominal Christian countries are not seeing the glory of God. Instead, they are seeing “religious politics,” factions, closed borders, people separated, and changes in power such as the fall of the Assad regime in Syria or the decrease of Hezbollah’s power in Lebanon.

(Image courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

“We’re asking God to [open] people’s eyes to see His glory, because it’s a really difficult time,” says Nuna. “So many people are depressed, skeptical, in disbelief, and in hopelessness. So many people are feeling like ‘[It is] better for us to leave.’ So it is strategic to pray at this time.”

Join in praying for eternal things. Learn more about prayer movements in the Middle East and how you can be part of gatherings like the Beirut House of Prayer. Connect with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon, or visit the Beirut House of Prayer on Instagram or YouTube.

“Jesus is coming back, and He’s coming back here. This region is so dear to His heart —whether it is Israel or Lebanon or the whole area, it is dear to His heart,” says Nuna. “If you want to be part of this, and you want to have more news about the Middle East and more direct contact with houses of prayer, contact us.” 

Header photo of Beirut House of Prayer gathering October 9-11, 2025 courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon.

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says a secret 1916 treaty called the Sykes-Picot Agreement created the Middle Eastern countries we know today. “The French and the British, after World War I, divided the lands according to their areas of influence,” she explains.

“We are now seeing a new Sykes-Picot; the map of the Middle East is changing.”

Two years of war between Israel and Hamas have led to a renewed push for Palestinian statehood. Shifting power dynamics in Syria and Lebanon leave vulnerable populations in limbo.

“In the midst of this change, there is chaos,” Nuna says. “People are being killed, homes are being destroyed. People are displaced; there are, like, 40 million people in the Middle East that are displaced now.”

Hope amid chaos

Triumphant Mercy Lebanon is on the ground, delivering help and hope to those who need it most. Learn more here.

Displaced people sleeping in the streets of Beirut.
(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

“People are living in fear. They don’t see the hand of God in all this. They’re just seeing destruction and death and wars and rumors of wars,” Nuna says.

“We have to bring this hope to people that God did not forget us, and it’s not out of His control. Nothing that is happening here is out of His control.”

Pray for wisdom so TM Lebanon teams can focus their efforts efficiently. Consider supporting these efforts here.

“Pray for the region in general, for the remapping of the region according to God’s design so that countries would be aligned to His purposes, and not man-made alignments,” Nuna requests.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of ErikaWittlieb/Pixabay.

Lebanon’s army presented its plan for disarming Hezbollah in four phases based on location earlier this month.

“We have till the end of the year, so three months from now, to have the weapons completely gone from Lebanon – the weapons of Hezbollah – otherwise it’s going to be war,” Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says.

“It’s [either] going to be Israel coming in and taking it by force, or civil war. We don’t know where we’re going, but the deadline is very close.”

The push for disarmament, driven primarily by the U.S. and Israel, is an unmatched effort to weaken Iran’s most powerful regional proxy.

Hezbollah fighters march in a 2018 ceremony.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Founded in the 1980s as a Shi’ite militant group, Hezbollah is classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. government. State officials recently approved a $14.2 million security assistance package to “build the capability and capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to dismantle weapons caches and military infrastructure of non-state groups, including Hizballah.”

Lebanese Cabinet members voted to proceed with the army’s plan for disarmament last week.

“Five people were Shiite, and they are the only ones who withdrew from this meeting,” Nuna says. “All the other [members] unanimously voted against the weapons of Hezbollah. This has never happened before.”

For now, Israel waits on the sidelines. “We have like 40,000 [soldiers] at the border of Lebanon waiting to see what’s going to happen with the disarmament. Because if nothing happens, they will invade the land,” Nuna says.

Pray for Gospel workers in Lebanon as they introduce people to the Prince of Peace. Triumphant Mercy Lebanon combines physical help and spiritual hope to serve Lebanon’s most vulnerable communities. Learn more here.

“People are so ready [for hope] because they have this darkness in front of them, and we have to show them a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel,” Nuna says. “The Gospel brings light to people and dispels the darkness around them.”

Header image depicts pandemic-era distributions of food aid to vulnerable households. Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon. 

The Iran-backed militant group declared it will ignore this decision. But war with Israel has largely gutted its leadership and diminished its influence. The cabinet’s decision is yet another sign of how the times have changed in Lebanon. 

“For 40 plus years, nobody could challenge Hezbollah, nobody could say anything,” said Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon. “Now suddenly we have this change [where] the whole cabinet [is] deciding that we [want to] have no more weapons except the army weapons. So no more militias, no more armed groups.”

H.E. General Joseph Aoun, President of the Republic of Lebanon, right. (Photo © European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The government’s increasingly clear stance has come with challenges. Nuna says that in the months since President Joseph Aoun took office “we have been stalling a little bit because it was difficult to say, ‘We don’t want the weapons [in Hezbollah’s possession] anymore.’”

At the same time, caution has been merited. With Hezbollah still holding some political sway, Nuna says the president was concerned about stirring up a civil war between Hezbollah supporters and those who want to see them disarmed. But last week, President Aoun responded publicly to Tehran’s criticism of the cabinet’s decision. He stated that Lebanon “does not accept anyone interfering in its internal affairs.”

“This is a sense that is really new. We have not heard this before,” said Nuna of the president’s declaration. “Does this mean that everything’s good? No, it means that we are expecting backlash.”

Indeed, protests have broken out in different regions of Lebanon following the government’s August 7 decision. Hezbollah and its supporters see it as a defender against Israel.

Nuna expects that Hezbollah will eventually have to lay down its arms but it might take a new round of military action to make that happen.For now, Lebanon’s political and economic struggles have left the Shia Muslim population desperate for true hope.

Political commentary on the streets of Gemmayze, East Beirut, Lebanon.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Brian Wertheim/Unsplash)

“For ministry opportunities, actually it is good [right now]. It is good in the sense that people are ready to receive, people are fed up with this regime,” Nuna said.

“Pray that now that there’s a whole people group that is open for the gospel, that we will seize the opportunity. It is an opportunity that we don’t want to miss.”

Pray also that God will give Lebanon a time to gain stability and a chance to normalize relationships with its neighbors. 

Learn more about Triumphant Mercy Lebanon here. 

*Pseudonym

Header photo: Hezbollah fighters train in southern Lebanon, May 2023. (Photo courtesy of Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia Commons)

The extremist opened fire in the sanctuary of the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus before detonating an explosive belt, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 60.

This attack marks the first suicide bombing targeting a church in Syria since rebel groups ousted former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending more than a decade of civil war.

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “It was a big tragedy for all of them. This is a church I know, a convent where my husband and I used to stay when we visited Syria, so I know the community there very well.”

The Islamic State claimed several attempted attacks on churches following Assad’s fall, but this was the first to succeed, one security source told Reuters. In the aftermath, Syrian police closed all churches in the region due to fears of further violence.

(Wikipedia)

“There have been threats that this would happen again in other regions of Syria,” Nuna says.

“They have been writing on the walls of a church, ‘Your time is coming soon.’ So, these are real threats from ISIS.”

Though diplomats applaud Syria’s political transition, minority advocates warn that persecution is on the rise.

“During the older (Assad) regime, the Christians were protected because the regime [leader] was a minority, so he needed all the other minorities to be with him,” Nuna says.

“Now, the government is more Islamist; this is a new threat for Christians.”

Despite the fear and uncertainty, many believers in Syria are drawing strength from their faith and church history. Nuna urges prayer for courage and perseverance: “We want that same boldness. The first Christians were going to lions, and they still went on their mission.”

As violence escalates, you can stand in prayerful solidarity with Syrian Christians facing renewed threats. Ask the Lord to empower believers as He did the first Church.

Header image depicts the Syrian flag. 

Nuna from Triumphant Mercy Lebanon has witnessed a gradual shift in both the lives of Syrian refugees and their place in the country. “Inside Lebanon, within the Ministry of Interior, they have made a plan for the repatriation of four hundred thousand Syrian refugees,” she says. Many are returning by choice — driven by a desire to rebuild Syria and escape the growing instability in Lebanon.

Lebanon remains gripped by crisis, with conflict ongoing and international aid dwindling. The ceasefire isn’t truly holding. Hezbollah refuses to disarm, and while the Lebanese army is slowly taking over some weapons warehouses, many remain under Hezbollah’s control. Israel has targeted some of these sites to prevent drone production inside Lebanon.

A Middle Eastern woman standing with luggage (representative photo courtesy of Mostafa Meraji via Unsplash)

In contrast, Syria is beginning to stabilize. “So there is more money flooding into Syria,” explains Nuna. “Their sanctions have lifted. People are looking with hope towards the future of the rebuilding.” That hope is calling many Syrians back.

Nuna has seen the effects firsthand: her refugee school in Lebanon is losing its students and teachers. They are packing up to return — some by choice, others under pressure. The shift has brought this chapter of ministry to an end.

“And I had to close the school, the school for refugees that we had, because there’s no reason for it to exist anymore. Most of the people will be gone,” says Nuna.

Now, the team is helping students finish strong. “This week, we’re sending all the kids who are in 9th grade to do the exams inside Syria and get their official papers. Then they can continue their high school education there.”

As this ministry ends, Nuna holds onto hope that the Gospel work will continue. Click on Triumphant Mercy Lebanon to learn more about their work!

“Every seed that we have planted in any one of those teachers during all these years of ministry, and the seed that we planted in every one of those children, we expect that God will just be the One watering it,” says Nuna.

But not everyone is leaving. Some refugees fear for their lives if they return. “They have become believers. So now, if they go back to their hometown, which is a radical place, they’re fearing for their lives,” says Nuna.

Pray that as Syrians return home, they will hold fast to the Gospel they’ve received. Ask God to give them courage amid challenges and to guard the seeds of faith planted in exile.

Header photo courtesy of Jonathan Ramalho via Unsplash.

The U.S. legislative process will take time. But the potential has already increased the value of Syrian currency and stirred attention from international investors. 

“We did not expect this coming in this way and so abruptly,” says Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon. “With that change, I can only imagine a boost in every part of Syria. We heard [recently] of people celebrating when they heard the news. People were dancing on the streets.”

Nuna explains that rebuilding Syria has been impossible. “You are not allowed to do any work because there are so many sanctions. If the U.S. discovers that any money goes into Syria, then there is a ban on you.” (Read more about the 2019 Caesar Act here.)

For years, Triumphant Mercy has found small ways to legally be the hands and feet of Christ in Syria. But now if the Syrian families they work with in Lebanon eventually return home, there will be deeper ways to help rebuild.

Syrian refugee children at a half-built apartment block near Reyfoun in Lebanon, close to the border with Syria, give the peace sign, 2016 (Photo courtesy of Eoghan Rice via Flickr)

“So now [it] is a different game,” says Nuna. “It’s a huge ministry opportunity to just go in the land and work.”

Syria’s new government and its stance toward religious minorities is unpredictable. It’s much too soon to tell if these ministry hopes will come to pass. But God is up to something! Please pray for gospel light to spread in Syria. 

“Let’s pray that the motives will not be just economic or just so that the Abrahamic Accord will come to pass, but more so that the people of Syria will rise again, and that they will really see that God had mercy on them,” says Nuna. 

“Really, I think this is an act of mercy from God, and I want to see people recognizing it. Let’s pray for the Syrian people, who have been oppressed for so long, that they will recognize God’s appointed time for them, and they would come to know Him.”

Learn more about Triumphant Mercy Lebanon’s mission here. 

*Pseudonym

Header photo of child holding a Syrian flag courtesy of Ahmed Akacha/Pexels.

According to the November Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, Israeli troops were supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by late January. Hezbollah was supposed to give up its military position in the same region (south of the Litani river), replaced by the Lebanese army. Neither has happened yet, though there has been progress.

H.E. General Joseph Aoun, President of the Republic of Lebanon, right, and Dubravka Šuica, center, during a meeting in Baabda, Lebanon February 2025. (Photo and caption by © European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Instead, this month, Hezbollah has been defiant as Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, navigates international pressure for the militant group’s disarmament. 

Nuna describes Lebanon as at the hinge point of change. Without that disarmament, Nuna explains, nothing will change the nation’s financial straitjacket or future.

“We can try to do many changes. However, we will not have the money for reconstruction. We will not have the approval of either [the] U.S. or Saudi Arabia, or all the countries that are involved in the rebuilding of Lebanon,” she says.

Lebanon will either step forward to become again what it once was: the Paris of the Middle East. Or it will live longer in today’s status quo, which Nuna says is chaos, “where Israel is still bombing places where Hezbollah has weapons, and we still have [places] like the south of Lebanon being hit every day, the Beqaa Valley being hit every day.”

Ministry impact and prayer points

The political climate has impacted ministry, sometimes for the worse and sometimes with new doors. 

Nuna says the weakening of Hezbollah has stripped Muslim Shiite communities of the power, prestige and leadership they once had. Now Triumphant Mercy has recognized the way opening for gospel ministry to these communities.

Triumphant Mercy Lebanon provides food aid at its community center in Beirut.
(Photo courtesy of TM Lebanon)

“It was completely difficult for us to just touch them. Now it’s an opportunity,” says Nuna. “And I think this is how we need to look at life. God gives us opportunities, and we need to seize them.” 

They are opening a new center where Shiite communities are located! Nuna asks for prayer that broken hearts among these communities and others in Lebanon would find healing in Christ.

“I would pray also for the common sense of people to see that when you lose a war, you don’t have to keep on trying to make it as if you’re still on the winner’s side,” she says. “Because actually, when you lose, you have to lay down your weapons and say, ‘Okay, what can I do now?'”

She adds, “Pray that this will come to pass, and that Lebanon will be freed from all the Iranian pressure that is keeping people in bondage. Of course [pray] for the ministry too, that now that people are open, that they will receive the gospel and that they will find healing and restoration in their hearts.”

*Pseudonym

Header photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon.