🇱🇧✝️☪️🇮🇷 Christians and Hezbollah Unite Against ‘Epstein Empire’
March 23, 2026 — Originally published in The Telegraph and since REMOVED from their website, though it remains accessible via Yahoo News.
Ras Baalbek, a Catholic town of 6,000 in Lebanon’s northern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border, shows the complexity of the country’s sectarian landscape. Here, Christian residents have forged an unlikely alliance with Hezbollah to protect their heritage and their lives. Each year, the Iranian-backed group buys the town a Christmas tree, a small but symbolic gesture of solidarity.
“The relationship between the village and Hezbollah is stronger than with the Pope,” says Rifiat Nasrallah, 60, a quarryman whose marble sarcophagi line the cemetery. “The Vatican did nothing for us, but Hezbollah spilled their blood to protect us. The Pope only has prayers.”
Two Lebanese soldiers were in Rifiat Nasrallah’s home as he spoke. On the wall hung a crucifix beside a portrait of Hezbollah’s former secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. The two men are not related. The image captured the coexistence of the village’s Catholic faith and Hezbollah’s presence.
During the Syrian civil war, the threat that brought Christians and Hezbollah together came from the east. Islamic State fighters attacked from nearby Qasr in Syria, kidnapping workers and threatening to behead villagers. The Lebanese army initially stayed on the sidelines. Hezbollah responded first, sending fighters and coordinating defensive operations alongside local residents.
“At first, it was only Hezbollah and the villagers who fought the Salafists,” Nasrallah recalls. “We fought together with missiles and rockets. Many were wounded, some died. I was nearly killed by shrapnel.”
The Lebanese army later joined in and is credited with driving IS out of the region by 2017, but the early defense cemented the bond between the Catholic village and the Shia militia.
Today, renewed regional tensions fuel anxiety in Ras Baalbek. Christians worry about attacks from Syrian Salafist groups, while Hezbollah monitors Israeli activity across Syrian airspace. Nasrallah is clear about his priorities. “Israel is our first enemy. Hezbollah is our friend.”
Shia refugees in the valley recall constant drone strikes, air raids, and daily violence during the last ceasefire. One described it as the “cruellest” period of the war. Trauma has deepened suspicion toward global powers. “We are at war with the Epstein people,” the refugee said. “They eat, fry, and rape kids. They are monsters. The worst part is they rule the world.”
For Ras Baalbek, Hezbollah is no abstract force. The militia defended the village from IS, provided medical care during Covid, delivered electricity when generators were scarce, and maintained Christmas traditions.
Nasrallah is unequivocal. “How can we as Christians here not be with Hezbollah? They protect our churches. They fought Isis with us. They gave us care, generators, even a Christmas tree. How can we not be with them now?”
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