Israeli soldiers were filmed damaging a statue of Jesus Christ in the southern Lebanese village of Debel, an incident that drew condemnation and renewed scrutiny over attacks on religious sites during the war. The episode is not an isolated one; from southern Lebanon to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, The New Arab looks into how Israel has destroyed or damaged churches, mosques and shrines central to both Christian and Muslim Arab communities. South Lebanon: shrines, churches, mosques The statue incident in southern Lebanon was not an isolated case and follows a series of attacks and incidents affecting religious sites across the country’s south during Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

In April 2026, a crucifix belonging to a small Christian shrine in the village of Debel was found smashed, in an incident later condemned by Israeli officials. Months earlier, during the November 2024 ground invasion, Israeli forces destroyed the Maqam Shamoun Al-Safa shrine in the village of Chamaa, a site long venerated by local communities and associated with Saint Peter. Other religious sites were also hit, including the levelling of an ancient shrine and adjacent mosque in the border village of Mhaibib, during Israeli military operations.

The St George Melkite Catholic Church in Dardghaya was destroyed in an airstrike in December 2024, according to local clergy. Taken together, the incidents span both Christian and Muslim places of worship, occurring in areas that became frontlines during Israel’s military campaign in southern Lebanon Gaza: churches and mosques under bombardment In Gaza, the scale of destruction has been far greater, with religious infrastructure affected as part of the wider devastation of civilian areas. Several of the enclave’s most significant Christian sites have been hit, damaged or destroyed during the war.

The Church of Saint Porphyrius, one of the oldest churches in the world, was struck in October 2023, with church officials confirming that civilians sheltering inside the compound were killed. One of the main holy buildings within the church complex was destroyed by Israeli forces, killing several civilians inside it. The Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic church, has also been damaged by Israeli airstrikes during the conflict, with its compound repeatedly used as a refuge for displaced civilians.

Nearby, the Saint Porphyrius Monastery and surrounding religious buildings have been bombed numerous times by Israel amid ongoing bombardment. Alongside churches, around 79 percent of mosques across Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged during Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, according to local authorities and satellite imagery analysis. West Bank: attacks and impunity In the occupied West Bank, the pattern has taken a different but increasingly visible form.

Christian leaders have warned of a rise in attacks by extremist Jewish settlers targeting churches, clergy, and religious property. In the Christian-majority town of Taybeh, settlers set fires near a Christian cemetery and a 5th-century church, prompting a rare joint visit by senior church figures. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III described the incidents as "a direct and intentional threat" to the local community and its religious heritage, while calling for an investigation into what he said was a failure by Israeli police to respond.

Other church leaders have gone further, warning that such attacks form part of a broader pattern. During the same period, clergy said violence by settlers against Christian communities, who have been present in Palestine since the time of Christ, was "systematic" and aimed at driving them from their land. Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa has also warned that in parts of the West Bank, "the only law" in practice is that of power rather than rights, reflecting what church officials describe as a climate of impunity.

Alongside attacks on churches, the targeting of mosques in the West Bank is an almost daily occurrence, including arson attacks and defacements. Legal protections and contested justifications Under international humanitarian law, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, religious sites are afforded protection and should not be targeted unless imperatively required by military necessity. Israel has often justified strikes on civilian areas by saying armed groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas operate within or near them, including around religious sites.

However, there has been no publicly available evidence that the specific structures were being used for military purposes. A pattern under scrutiny Across Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank, incidents involving religious sites have accumulated over the course of the war, drawing increasing scrutiny from religious leaders, rights groups, and international observers. From hilltop shrines in southern Lebanon to churches and mosques in Gaza