The Israeli military has sentenced two soldiers to military prison after a photograph showing them desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in the southern Lebanese village which was circulated on social media after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed. One soldier received a 21-day sentence and the other 14 days. According to Roya News, the incident took place several weeks before its publication on Monday, May 11.
The photograph showed one soldier holding a cigarette to the mouth of the statue, while the other soldier was seen documenting the act. After the image spread widely across social media platforms, it drew condemnation and prompted public scrutiny of how Israeli troops have been conducting themselves in the occupied village.
The IDF confirmed that the incident took place in Debel, a predominantly Christian village in southern Lebanon that has been under Israeli military occupation for weeks. The soldier who posed with the statue was sentenced to 21 days in military prison, while the soldier who photographed the scene received 14 days.
The IDF’s Response
The military moved to distance itself from the soldiers’ conduct with a formal statement. “The IDF 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,” the military said.
The statement did not name the soldiers or specify which unit they belonged to. It came after the photograph had already generated broad online backlash, meaning the military’s public response followed rather than preceded the social media pressure.
A Pattern of Incidents in Debel
The case involving the Virgin Mary statue is not a standalone incident in Debel. Earlier, the Israeli military detained two soldiers and questioned six others after a separate incident in which a statue of Jesus Christ was allegedly damaged in April. That earlier case involved a larger group of troops under scrutiny — eight in total — compared to the two soldiers sanctioned in the latest incident.
Days after the Jesus Christ statue incident, the military also launched a review after a video appeared to show troops damaging solar panels and a vehicle in the same area. Taken together, the three incidents within a short span in a single village have placed sustained pressure on the IDF over troop conduct in occupied southern Lebanon.
Regional and Global Impact
Debel’s status as a predominantly Christian village gives the incidents a specific religious dimension that has amplified their reach beyond the immediate military and political context. Reports of Israeli soldiers damaging Christian religious symbols in Lebanese territory have generated reaction across Christian communities in Lebanon and the broader Arab world, where the country has a historically significant Christian population. The incidents also feed into wider international debates about Israel’s conduct during its military operations in southern Lebanon, and the obligations of occupying forces toward religious sites under international humanitarian law. No international body has formally commented on the Debel incidents as of May 11, according to available reports.
Background
Israeli forces entered southern Lebanon as part of military operations tied to the broader regional conflict. Debel is among the villages in the south that came under Israeli military occupation in the weeks prior to the Virgin Mary statue incident. The IDF has a formal code of conduct that includes provisions on the protection of religious sites, and Israeli military law grants commanding officers the authority to impose disciplinary sentences, including military imprisonment, for misconduct. The April 2026 incident involving the Jesus Christ statue was the first publicly reported case of alleged damage to a Christian religious symbol in Debel. The photograph of the Virgin Mary statue was the second such case to generate widespread public attention within weeks.
What Happens Next
The two soldiers convicted in connection with the Virgin Mary statue incident are currently serving prison sentences of 21 and 14 days respectively. The IDF has not announced any wider disciplinary review of conduct in Debel beyond the individual cases already addressed. The review launched following the solar panels and vehicle damage incident has not produced publicly announced findings as of May 11. Lebanon has not issued a formal government statement on the Debel incidents, according to available sources. Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon are ongoing.
