Hezbollah rockets strike Christian village of Marjayoun

Several rockets fired by Hezbollah struck the predominantly Christian village of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon overnight, causing damage to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts school and the local church.

The attack on one of the few remaining peaceful communities in the south sends an unmistakable message: Hezbollah wants its residents gone.

The Iran-backed militant group has long pursued a deliberate strategy of pressuring civilians in villages that have resisted its infiltration, communities that, precisely because they remain free of Hezbollah's presence, stand as living proof that life in southern Lebanon need not revolve around the group's agenda.

By targeting schools and places of worship, Hezbollah is not striking military objectives. It is striking at the social fabric of a community, its faith, its children's future, its sense of safety, in a calculated effort to empty these villages and consolidate its grip on the region.

For the Christians of Marjayoun, who have long sought to preserve their way of life amid Lebanon's chronic instability, last night's rockets are yet another reminder of the price paid by those who refuse to submit to the militia's dominance.