© L'Orient TodayThe village of Yaroun, a mixed border locality where Shiite and Christian communities live, before and after the demolitions by the Israeli army. Photos provided to L'OLJ by a resident of the village.
"Let American Christians speak up!!! America can't stay silent and must stop funding Israel to commit such atrocities!!!" wrote former U.S. lawmaker and far-right figure Marjorie Taylor Greene on Saturday, sharing a post showing the extent of the destruction suffered by the convent and the Sisters of the Holy Savior school.
"The Israeli army razed the convent and the Sisters of the Holy Savior school in Yaroun, Lebanon, yesterday. By what right? What does this have to do with disarming Hezbollah? Israel, wake up — your leaders have lost their way," responded European Parliament member Nathalie Loiseau, former French minister and a member of President Emmanuel Macron's allied Horizons party.
According to information obtained on Friday by our correspondent in southern Lebanon from Father Charbel Naddaf, priest of the Yaroun parish, the Israelis did indeed carry out the demolition of the convent and its associated school on Friday, denouncing "a flagrant violation of international law."
Father Naddaf believes that Tel Aviv's goal is to "empty the area of its inhabitants and prevent their return," something the Israeli army manages to accomplish "in the absence of any deterrent." "They destroy houses and places of worship, and no one stops them," he lamented, calling on Lebanese authorities and the international community to intervene.
"Violation of all human values"
An Israeli soldier had already caused an international outcry by vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ in the Christian village of Debel, forcing the Israeli government to announce sanctions against the soldiers involved in this desecration, under the weight of public outcry.
During the previous Israeli ground offensive in southern Lebanon launched during the autumn 2024 war, Israeli soldiers filmed themselves desecrating a monastery in Deir Mimas (Marjeyoun), as well as a statue of Saint George in Yaroun. Several places of worship, including mosques and churches, had already been affected by Israeli bombings, including the same monastery in Yaroun, which was badly damaged.
© Social MediaA photo of the Yaroun convent after the destruction it previously suffered in 2024 during Israeli bombings on the South Lebanon village.
Metropolitan Ibrahim stated that "the destruction of this religious and educational place constitutes an aggravated crime against humanity and the land, and respects neither the sanctity of holy places nor that of scientific institutions," emphasizing that targeting a monastery and a school is tantamount to attacking "childhood, knowledge, and the hope for a better future." "I call on the international community to assume its responsibilities and not content itself with timid positions that do not measure up to the seriousness of the tragedy," he insisted.
The "buffer zone" that Israel wants to establish in southern Lebanon stretches as far as eight to ten kilometers from the Blue Line and encompasses dozens of villages, most of which are occupied and where all homes and other civilian buildings are systematically destroyed. In addition to this invasion, the Israeli army continues to bomb, despite the existing truce, villages and towns in the south of the country.
So, they announce sanctions. Did anything actually happen? One can announce anything.