Israel’s military has launched an investigation into a soldier photographed placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in an occupied Christian village in southern Lebanon, in the latest incident of alleged desecration by Israeli troops that has drawn condemnation from the Catholic Church.
The photograph was taken in the village of Debel several weeks ago, according to IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, and shows the soldier smoking while positioning another cigarette on the statue’s mouth. It is the second such incident in the same village within weeks — last month, a separate soldier was photographed striking a statue of Jesus in the face with a sledgehammer. Those two soldiers were subsequently handed 30-day military prison sentences following international condemnation.
The IDF said it viewed the latest incident with “utmost severity,” with Lt Col Shoshani stating that the conduct “completely deviates from the values expected of its personnel.” He added that “command measures” would be taken against the soldier once the investigation concludes, and that the IDF “respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities.”
The Roman Catholic Church’s representative in the Holy Land also responded sharply. The Custodia Terrae Sanctae was quoted by Israeli newspaper Haaretz as saying: “This is disrespectful and outrageous behaviour that must stop immediately. We call on the Israeli government and the IDF to act and send a clear message that such behaviour is unacceptable, must not happen again, and that the case be handled with the utmost seriousness.”
The incidents have unfolded against the backdrop of a continuing Israeli military presence across a wide area of southern Lebanon, where thousands of troops remain deployed following a US-brokered ceasefire that came into force on 16 April. That ceasefire has done little to halt the fighting. Israeli strikes have continued daily, with the Lebanese health ministry reporting more than 120 people killed in the past week alone, including civilians. Hezbollah has continued to attack Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel using rockets, drones and mortars.
On Wednesday night, an Israeli airstrike struck the southern suburbs of Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire began. The IDF said the strike in the Dahieh district killed Ahmed Ali Balout, commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, though there was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah.
Since the war began on 2 March, at least 2,715 people have been killed in Lebanon according to the Lebanese health ministry. Israeli authorities have reported the deaths of 17 soldiers and one civilian in southern Lebanon, along with two civilians in northern Israel.
