As much as 75 percent of Lebanon’s population is in need of emergency assistance.

“The Holy See is following the situation closely and expresses concern about any future actions that could further compromise dialogue.”

Catholic leaders in the Holy Land believe that continued Israeli annexation of West Bank land could end any hope of Palestinian-Israeli rapprochement.

Nearly 50% of Lebanese are living below the poverty line, and unemployment has reached 35% of the working population, according to the government.

From Damascus, Syria, Melkite Catholic Patriarch Joseph Absi stressed how faith and hope are needed "in these difficult days that we live in pain, in anxiety and fear."

In Syria, an open-ended nightly curfew took effect Wednesday at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). State TV showed police patrolling the empty streets of Damascus and other main cities.