Israeli Soldiers Sentenced To Military Prison For Desecrating Virgin Mary Statue In Southern Lebanon

Two Israeli soldiers were sentenced to weeks in military prison for desecrating a Christian object in southern Lebanon after one stuck a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary and the other photographed it.

“Two Israeli soldiers were sentenced to weeks in military prison after one desecrated a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon by placing a cigarette in its mouth while another documented the act in a photograph that sparked outrage across the region”

Daily Sabah

Le Monde reported that Israel’s military said the soldier posing would get 21 days in military prison and the soldier who photographed it would get 14, after the photo “went viral and sparked widespread outrage.”

Daily Sabah

The Guardian said the military “views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” quoting spokesperson Lt Col Ariella Mazor.

The incident was described as part of a wider pattern of acts by Israeli forces denounced as anti-Christian in southern Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this year to target Hezbollah.

Le Monde added that the photo circulated days after images of an Israeli soldier wielding an ax against a fallen statue of Jesus on the cross in the southern Lebanon village of Debel were condemned by foreign leaders, Christian leaders and Israeli politicians.

The Times of Israel said the IDF sentenced two soldiers to jail for placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in Debel, a Christian village in southern Lebanon, after a picture was shared widely online last week and condemned by the military.

It reported that the soldier seen in the picture was given three weeks in military jail and the soldier who took the photograph was sentenced to two weeks, while the IDF said the incident was investigated by the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan.

Folha de S.Paulo

In a separate account, Le Monde said Israel’s military spokesperson Lt. Col. Ariella Mazor wrote on X that the military “views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” framing the punishment as respect for religious symbols.

The Guardian also tied the case to the broader conflict, saying Israel’s forces took control of southern Lebanon as part of the latest conflict with Hezbollah, which began on 2 March when the Tehran-backed Lebanese militant group fired missiles over the border two days after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran.

Beyond the statue case, the sources place the sentencing within an ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon that began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired missiles over the border two days after the US and Israel launched their war with Iran.

“Two Israeli soldiers will spend weeks in military prison for desecration of a Christian object after one stuck a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon and the other photographed it”

Le Monde.fr

PBS (AP) said Israeli forces have remained despite a weekslong truce, and it added that Israel’s military said a soldier who worked as a driver had been killed in combat near the border, marking the 18th to die in the area since the start of the Iran war.

Le Monde reported that the scale of destruction has Lebanese officials and residents worried that large numbers of people displaced by the latest war will have nowhere to return if the fragile truce holds.

Folha de S.Paulo said Israel’s Army reported on Monday (11) that it punished two soldiers with prison sentences after the release of the photo, and it described the case as occurring weeks ago but being announced only on Monday.

Folha de S.Paulo also stated that Israel controls a strip of about 10 km along the border and that its map of a new line of positioning places dozens of Lebanese villages, mostly abandoned, under its control.