Israel’s military has launched an investigation after a photo circulated online showing a soldier desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon.
The military said on Wednesday that it viewed the incident “gravely” and promised action against the soldier, according to The Times of Israel.
The photo showed the soldier placing a cigarette into the mouth of the statue while smoking one himself.
It is the latest in a series of incidents involving Israeli soldiers desecrating religious sites and destroying or looting property in southern Lebanon.
Last month, another soldier was photographed damaging a statue of Jesus in the same village. According to Lebanese media, Israeli troops also bulldozed solar panels in Debel that supplied electricity for the town’s water system, and destroyed homes, roads and olive trees.
The incidents come as Israeli forces intensify attacks on Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, claiming they are targeting Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure. Israeli forces also continue to occupy large areas of southern Lebanon and demolish villages in the region.
The scale of destruction has raised fears among Lebanese officials and residents that displaced communities may have nowhere to return to.
Religious groups have also documented an increase in harassment and violence against Christian pilgrims, clergy and Palestinian Christian residents, including assaults and spitting incidents allegedly involving ultra-Orthodox Jewish yeshiva students. Among the incidents was an assault on a French nun near Old City of Jerusalem last month.
Israeli authorities have condemned several incidents after international backlash. Following the attack on the nun, Israeli police announced the arrest of a 36-year-old suspect. After outrage over the destruction of the Jesus statue in Debel, the office of Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a condemnation.
The two soldiers involved in the Debel incident — one accused of smashing the statue with a sledgehammer while another filmed — were removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
In March, Netanyahu’s office also apologised after Israeli police blocked Pierbattista Pizzaballa from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to lead Palm Sunday Mass.
Critics say such disciplinary actions remain rare despite allegations involving Israeli troops during the war in Gaza and other occupied territories.
Among those killed in the conflict was Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead in the occupied West Bank in 2022.
Israeli strikes have also damaged religious sites in Gaza, including the Great Omari Mosque, whose historic minaret was destroyed, and the Saint Porphyrius Church, one of the world’s oldest churches.
Credit: Al jezera