Israeli Troops Jailed for Desecrating Virgin Mary Statue in Southern Lebanon

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.

Israel’s military said the soldier posing would be jailed for 21 days and the one who photographed him 14, and 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.”

Al Jazeera

The photo went viral and sparked widespread outrage, and the incident was described as the latest act by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon to be denounced as anti-Christian.

The photo appeared days after images of an Israeli soldier wielding an axe against a fallen statue of Jesus on the cross in the southern Lebanon village of Debel were roundly condemned by foreign leaders, Christian leaders and Israeli politicians.

The Guardian also linked the episode to a wider pattern of Israeli actions in southern Lebanon, noting that Israel’s military says it only targets buildings that Hezbollah uses as outposts while Lebanese officials and residents worry displaced people will have nowhere to return if a fragile truce holds.

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least four people and wounded eight others, according to Lebanese media cited by Al Jazeera, with the state National News Agency reporting injuries to two medics as they rushed to offer aid.

Al Jazeera said the medics were wounded when an air strike hit a civil defence team affiliated with the Islamic Health Society in Toul in Nabatieh, and it reported that a drone strike on a car in the town of Haris in the Bint Jbeil district killed one man and injured his brother.

Al Jazeera

Ahead of the attacks, the Israeli army issued a forced displacement threat for nine towns in southern and eastern Lebanon, and army spokesman Avichay Adraee urged residents there to evacuate due to what he called Hezbollah infrastructure in the towns.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Lebanon’s president urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in south Lebanon, as Lebanon’s health ministry said 74 people had been killed by Israeli strikes in the last three days despite a truce.

It also said the US will facilitate a third round of talks in Washington on May 14 and 15, with Lebanon’s delegation headed by former ambassador to Washington Simon Karam, while Hezbollah criticised the Lebanese government for taking part.

Lebanon’s health ministry figures cited by Al Jazeera put the toll since March 2 at at least 2,840 people killed, injured almost 8,700, and displaced more than a million, and it said the United States is preparing to host more peace talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, in a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, “stressed ... the necessity of pressure on Israel to halt fire and military operations and the destruction and bulldozing of homes,” as Israel continued demolitions in the south.

Al Jazeera also said the ceasefire began on April 17 and was later extended to mid-May, but that Israeli forces continued to exchange fire with Hezbollah and carry out attacks despite the ceasefire.

In parallel, Anadolu Ajansı reported that Israel said a helicopter suffered a “technical error” while trying to evacuate wounded soldiers in southern Lebanon and denied that the helicopter came under fire, while Lebanese media said at least four people were killed and eight others injured in Israeli attacks on Monday.

Against that backdrop, The Guardian described Lebanese officials and residents as worried that large numbers of displaced people will have nowhere to return if the fragile truce holds, while it noted Israel’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon began after Hezbollah fired missiles over the border on 2 March.