Emergency aid is urgently needed for thousands of Christians who have chosen to stay in their southern Lebanon villages which are being bombed by the Israelis.

Bishop Elias Nassar of Saida diocese said this week his people were appealing to the Church for help. Seven villages in his diocese have been destroyed, forcing up to 2,000 people to leave. Another 22 villages have been damaged with inhabitants evacuating to Beirut where they remain in danger. The bishop said that Christian villages in Tyre and Saida had been targeted because armed Hezbollah forces had infiltrated the region. Despite this, many people were desperate to stay in their homes, fearing that if they left, they might not be able to return.

Elias Nassar, 46, who has been a bishop for only six months, prepared a detailed report on his diocese for the charity, Aid to the Church in Need, explaining that local communities were increasingly calling on the Church for emergency help.

The Lebanese Government was prioritising aid to Muslim communities, overlooking the plight of Christians whose situation was in some cases just as bad if not worse.

"People here want to know: can things get any worse? They are very afraid. They have run out of the most basic of supplies. They keep asking me for help and I have nothing to give them," he said. 

Food, clean water, milk and medicine were urgently needed and, despite the destruction of roads, bridges and power lines, the bishop was confident that the Church's infrastructure would enable him to get emergency aid through to villages in some of the most remote areas.

According to Aid to the Church in Need, Lebanon has for many years been seen by church leaders as a sanctuary for Christians in the Middle East, and the clash between Hezbollah and Israel has prompted fears that an exodus of Christians from the region could spell disaster for the survival of the Church in the whole region. The director of a centre east of Saida run by the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Lebanon described the situation as "tragic and catastrophic".

"Dear friends, in the eyes of adults and children, only fear is to be seen. Essential materials for survival are hardly to be found," said Fr Antoine Dib, director of the Providence Centre in a message appealing for help.