(23 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dardghaya, Lebanon – 22 December 2024
1. Various of Georges Elia decorating a Christmas tree in St. George Melkite Catholic Church that was destroyed by Israeli airstrike
2. Various of Christmas tree surrounded by rubble
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Georges Elia, municipality worker:
++PART OVERLAID BY SHOTS 2 & 4++:
“Sadly, this year Christmas is arriving with sadness for us, but we didn’t want for it to be a sad one for the town’s residents and its church particularly. We tried to put up a tree even if it is a modest and simple one. We are trying to summon the joy of the holidays. It doesn’t have a cave. We put up a tree but we didn’t add the real Christmas which is the birth of Christ, because the church is destroyed. We won’t be able to set it up without it falling apart and breaking. We didn’t add lights because the destruction cut the electricity. But of course, Christ is born in our hearts that is lit with our love to him.”
4. Elia walking over rubble
5. Elia sounding the bell
6. Exterior of damaged church
7. Priest Maurice el Khoury walking outside
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Maurice el Khoury, priest at the St. George Melkite Catholic Church:
++PART OVERLAID BY SHOT 9++
"The first moment when I went in the church, my blood pressure went up, I lost my balance and could no longer stand up. I had to lean on the wall for a few minutes. We have a young man in the church called Georges Elia. He was my first aid. I couldn’t…I told you that I have been serving this church for 11 years. I knew its smallest details. For me to see it this way, I couldn’t comprehend it, despite all the losses, and we have grave losses."
9. Various of damage of exterior of church
10. Rubble inside church
11. Decorative sock with “Merry Christmas” on it
STORYLINE:
In the southern Lebanese town of Dardghaya, Georges Elia carefully sets up a modest Christmas tree inside what remains of St. George Melkite Catholic Church.
Once a vibrant center of the community, the 18th-century church now lies in shambles, devastated by an Israeli airstrike in October
Elia, a 40-year-old municipal worker and dedicated churchgoer, took it upon himself to bring some normalcy to his community as the Christmas season approached.
The modest tree lacks lights and the traditional Nativity scene.
The destruction of power lines in the area also means no electricity to light the tree.
The airstrike on St. George Church came as part of widespread bombardments across southern Lebanon, which were followed by an Israeli ground invasion.
Like many other, Elia and his family, fled their homes after receiving evacuation orders on September 23, when Israel massive strikes on the country displaced hundreds of thousands.
This attack marked the third time the church had been damaged by Israeli forces in its history.
In the Israeli invasion in !978, they lost the western wall to the church and the residential rooms were hit by Israeli airstrikes in 1992.
When Elia first heard about the church’s destruction, he couldn’t believe it.
Upon returning months later, he found the damage worse than he had imagined.
“Sadly, this year Christmas is arriving with sadness for us, but we didn’t want for it to be a sad one for the town’s residents and its church particularly," he said.
Father Maurice el Khoury, who has served the church for 11 years, recalled the moment he saw the destruction for the first time after the ceasefire.
The financial toll of the damage is staggering. Father el Khoury estimates restoration costs at nearly $3 million.
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