The Melkite Greek Catholic bishops urged the Lebanese government and the United Nations to protect civilian and religious property, calling the razing of empty buildings a “deep wound in the national and human conscience.” The Council’s statement, released Monday, specifically cited the village of Yaroun, where church officials and residents say Israeli troops bulldozed a convent earlier this month while the population was evacuated.
Israel took control of border areas in southern Lebanon during its latest war with Hezbollah and, ahead of the April 17 ceasefire, has asked residents to leave villages for their own safety. The military maintains it does not intentionally target religious institutions. In a statement Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said that while destroying Hezbollah infrastructure in Yaroun it damaged a house without religious signs, then halted further destruction after recognizing the building was connected to a church. The IDF said the site had been used by Hezbollah militants to fire rockets toward Israel, and released photographs of an intact building.
Adib Ajaka, a Christian community leader in Yaroun, told the Associated Press that the photographs showed another building — one housing a clinic and archbishopric — and that the convent itself was bulldozed. He provided an image of rubble beside the clinic that he said were the remains of the convent. The IDF did not immediately respond Monday to questions about the convent.
A municipal official from Yaroun and Gladys Sabbagh, the superior general of the Basilian Salvatorian Sisters who used the convent, also told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity or through news they received from the area, that the convent had been destroyed while residents were away. L’Oeuvre d’Orient, a French Catholic charity, condemned what it described as the “deliberate act of destruction of a place of worship and the systematic destruction of homes in southern Lebanon aimed at preventing the return of civilian populations.”
The dispute over the convent unfolds against the backdrop of a war that erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran, Hezbollah’s principal backer. Israel has since carried out hundreds of airstrikes, launched a ground invasion, and seized dozens of towns along the border, while Hezbollah has repeatedly targeted northern Israel with missiles and drones. A ceasefire brokered in Washington took effect on April 17 and was extended by three weeks, though its fragility was underscored Monday when the Israeli military reported that two soldiers were injured in a “close-quarters encounter with Hezbollah” in south Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry said Monday that the war has killed 2,696 people and injured 8,264.
In a separate development, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa told reporters Monday that a potential meeting in Washington between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not be seen as a concession or loss for Lebanon. Former President Donald Trump had announced last month that he would host such a meeting, but no date has been set and Aoun has not officially confirmed attendance. Hezbollah and its allies have harshly criticized Aoun at home for even considering direct talks with Israel. The ambassador’s remarks, while not directly related to the Yaroun convent, added to the diplomatic maneuvering that continues alongside the military and humanitarian fallout.