The vicar of Anatolia describes a "widespread feeling" that unites the government and the population, which is experiencing "great concern" like the whole region. The Jewish state continues to strike, from Gaza to Lebanon: at least 22 dead in Beirut, while the UNIFIL mission was targeted in the south. A synagogue was vandalised in Izmir. As the pope said, even in this conflict the "economy of arms" prevails.

While they may be divided over the conflict between the Party of God and the Jewish State, Lebanese movements and parties are united in defending the country’s territorial integrity. The humanitarian emergency is getting worse as more and more people are displaced, but expressions of solidarity are also multiplying. Political analyst says the Israeli prime minister is trying to cause a religious war within Lebanon, splitting Lebanese society.

For the parish priest of the small Latin rite community, “the war will not end soon,” now that it involves Lebanon. More than 16,000 children have died in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict out of a total death toll of 41,000. For the small Catholic community, the priority is schooling, even if it has to take place in improvised classrooms in the church itself so as not to lose the year. A day of prayer and fasting for peace will be held on 7 October. Many “only want an end to the violence.”

Foreign migrants cannot access already overcrowded shelters and are exposed to Israeli bombs outdoors. A parish has opened its doors but dozens are crying for help every day. Migrants in Lebanon top 160,000, 65 per cent women, but they could be many more. Promises of repatriation by the Philippine government remain unfulfilled.

The victim, Fr Gregorius Saloum, served as parish priest in Ibl al-Saqi, in the south of the country. He was seriously wounded in yesterday’s attack along with his wife and children. Kfour, a Christian village near Nabatieh, was also hit with the local church suffering heavy damages.

Hezbollah's number two announces the fight will continue. The price is already high: over a thousand dead, incalculable devastation, and a humanitarian emergency; but in reception centres and in the streets, words of resentment against the slain secretary general are rare. France and the United States (which approved Israel’s ground operation) continue to talk about a diplomatic solution that seems still far away.