Israeli Soldier Investigated Over Photo With Virgin Mary Statue in Southern Lebanon

The Israeli military said it intercepted a suspicious aerial target launched from Lebanon toward Israel on Thursday, triggering sirens in the northern Israeli communities of Manara, Margaliot and Kiryat Shmona. Separately, the military has opened an investigation into a soldier photographed several weeks ago in the Christian village of Debel in southern Lebanon.

The photograph, first published by Al Jazeera on 7 May 2026, shows the soldier placing a cigarette in the mouth of a Virgin Mary statue while smoking another.

Lt Col Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said the incident is viewed with utmost severity and that command measures will be taken against the soldier in accordance with the findings of the investigation. Shoshani stated that “The IDF respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities.”

The Custodia Terrae Sanctae, the Roman Catholic Church’s representative in the Holy Land, said in a statement that the behaviour was “disrespectful and outrageous” and “must stop immediately.” The group called on the Israeli government and the IDF to send a clear message that such behaviour is unacceptable.

A separate incident occurred last month in the same village when two soldiers were photographed hitting a statue of Jesus in the face with a sledgehammer. Those two soldiers were each sentenced to 30 days in military prison.

The incidents took place in the context of Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon that continued after a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into force on 16 April 2026. Israeli authorities said 17 soldiers and one civilian have been killed in southern Lebanon, while two civilians in northern Israel have been killed.

Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel with rockets, drones and mortars.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, more than 120 people were killed in southern Lebanon in the past week and at least 2,715 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war began on 2 March 2026. An Israeli air strike hit the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday night, killing Ahmed Ali Balout, the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, according to the IDF.