The Israeli military has been caught destroying solar panels in an isolated south Lebanese border village – days after soldiers desecrated a statue of Jesus Christ in the same place.
Footage has emerged of an Israeli digger smashing the panels on the edge of the village of Debel, which is surrounded by occupying Israeli troops. CCTV footage from the incident is dated April 24.
The Lebanese environmental NGO Green Southerners said the solar panels provide electricity to the town and help power water pumping stations. Nearby olive orchards – an important income source for people in the south – were also destroyed, as was a tractor.
The attack is just the latest incident of Israel attacking vital civilian infrastructure such as water pumps and electricity grids that serve the handful of people still living in south Lebanon. The incident is particularly serious given the remoteness of the area and the limited support available there.
Residents of Debel, a Christian village in south Lebanon, have refused to leave their homes and insist they are not involved in the conflict.
The Israeli military, which has a long track record of destroying towns under its occupation, said an investigation had been launched and claimed the attack did not align with its values – despite widespread evidence to the contrary. It is the second investigation the military has launched in a matter of days.
It has vowed to reduce to rubble all Lebanese border villages, with the exception of Christian ones like Debel.
The Israeli military was heavily criticised last week when a photo emerged of a soldier striking the face of a statue of the crucified Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer. It was later replaced by another statue as part of a rare humanitarian mission to Debel that included an envoy of the Pope.
The soldier who desecrated the statue of Jesus and a second who filmed the act each received 30 days of military detention and were removed from combat duty.
Israeli media had reported widespread looting by soldiers along the “yellow line” – an area encompassing more than 55 villages and towns in south Lebanon that the Israeli military has ordered displaced people not to return to.
Christian communities in the south of the country have become cut off in the weeks since the Israeli military launched an offensive in Lebanon on March 2, when the Iran-backed group Hezbollah resumed attacks on Israel in support of Iran and in retaliation for Israel's daily violations of a previous 2024 ceasefire.
The Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,500 people and displaced about 1.2 million, mostly residents of the south, Lebanese authorities said.
