Originally published at The Crux
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YAHSHOUSH, Lebanon — Church bells and bursts of gunfire echoed across the valley as hundreds gathered for funeral prayers on Tuesday for a Lebanese Christian party official known for his anti-Hezbollah stance and his wife who were killed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend.
The case has become a touchpoint for tensions in Lebanon, which is deeply divided over the ongoing war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant Hezbollah group that’s part of the larger Iran war spasming the Middle East and beyond.
Pierre Mouawad, his wife and a woman visiting them were killed in an Israeli strike that hit an apartment above them in the town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut on Sunday. The Israeli military said its intention was to target a Hezbollah militant, though the circumstances of the strike remain unclear.
Mouawad was with the local branch of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party widely considered Hezbollah’s fiercest political opponent. They have for years called or the group’s disarmament and in recent weeks have blamed Hezbollah for dragging the country into another war by firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with its key ally and patron Iran.
The party has four ministers in
