Catholic worshipers carry their children on their shoulders as they march in a procession during a Palm Sunday Mass in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. The poster in the background reads in Arabic: "Honor, sacrifice and loyalty". (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A woman holds her baby as people attend Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Worshipers walk in a procession during a Palm Sunday Mass at the Our Lady of Hadat Church in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Worshipers attend Palm Sunday Mass procession at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A priest blesses the palm branches held by the worshippers during a Palm Sunday Mass at the Our Lady of Hadat Church in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Worshippers shelter from the rain under umbrellas as they arrive at a church to attend a Palm Sunday Mass in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Parishioners hold palm branches during the Palm Sunday celebration at the Our Lady of Hadat Church in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A woman walks in one of the Christian alleys on her way to attend Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
George Iskandar, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tyre for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church presides over a Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Boys hold candles during Palm Sunday Mass procession at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Christian woman takes pictures of her daughters outside a church, as they celebrate Palm Sunday in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Worshipers light candles as they attend Palm Sunday Mass procession at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A boy holds a candle during Palm Sunday Mass procession at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Boys hold candles during Palm Sunday Mass procession at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Catholic worshipers carry their children on their shoulders as they march in a procession during a Palm Sunday Mass in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A Catholic woman kneels beside her dog at the entrance of a church during a Palm Sunday Mass in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Audio By Carbonatix
8:42 AM on Sunday, March 29
By HUSSEIN MALLA and EMILIO MORENATTI
BEIRUT (AP) — As Christians packed churches across Lebanon this Palm Sunday to commemorate their belief in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the renewed war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah weighed on parishioners.
Still, it was standing-room-only at a Maronite Catholic church near Dahiyeh, in Beirut's southern suburbs, a once-densely populated Shiite district where Hezbollah has long held sway — now emptied by sweeping Israeli evacuation orders and constant airstrikes. In the coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, which has been almost cut off from the rest of the country by Israel bombing surrounding bridges, the peal of church bells and velvety choral music filled the air.
Parishioners fervently prayed for peace, although sectarian hostilities have never been far from the surface in since the 1975-1990 civil war that largely pitted Christians against Muslims. Now, churchgoers say all Lebanese are suffering from the intensifying conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“There's no bombing right here, right now, but no one is safe from this, not the Christians, not anyone,” said Mahia Jamus, a 20-year-old university student in Beirut. “No one is spared the effects.”
In Tyre, where thousands of residents remain in their homes and in shelters despite Israeli evacuation orders, Christians took comfort in the preservation of their ancient traditions despite the suffering around them.
“Amid the wars, the tragedies and the destruction that is happening, we are in our land,” Roseth Katra, 41, said from the centuries-old stone church in Tyre. “Today is Palm Sunday, and we are celebrating.”
___
Isabel DeBre contributed to this report.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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