Beirut: President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, on Tuesday held phone calls with Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, and Maronite Archbishop of Tyre Charbel Abdallah, offering condolences over the killing of Father Pierre Al-Rahi, parish priest of Qlayaa.

According to National News Agency – Lebanon, Father Al-Rahi was killed in Israeli shelling that targeted the town of Qlayaa yesterday.

Aoun expressed deep sorrow over the priest’s death, describing him as an example of steadfastness and of the determination of residents in southern Lebanon to remain in their villages and towns.