The Israeli military has imprisoned two soldiers for desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in a village in southern Lebanon and posting the photos online.
On 11 May 2026, the Israeli military sentenced two soldiers who desecrated a Virgin Mary statue in southern Lebanon and posted images online, causing widespread outrage among Christians worldwide.
The images showed one soldier holding a cigarette to the statue's mouth. The Israeli military said in a statement, “This is a very serious incident. We respect freedom of belief and pilgrimage, as well as religious sites and symbols of all faiths and communities.”
The IDF said the incident occurred in the village of Debel, predominantly Christian, “several weeks ago.” The military sentenced the offending soldier to 21 days in military prison, while the soldier who took the photo received a 14-day sentence.
In April, Israeli soldiers destroyed a statue of Jesus in the same small Christian village in southern Lebanon, which Israel had occupied for several weeks. The military imprisoned two soldiers and investigated six others.
A few days later, a video surfaced showing Israeli soldiers destroying solar panels and vehicles outside Debel. The IDF said it had started investigating but no results have been released yet.
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Source:cnn