The Israel Defence Forces said it had damaged parts of a Catholic convent while fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
It said it was destroying militant infrastructure in the border village of Yaroun, and that it had damaged a house that had no religious signs.
While the IDF say soldiers “prevented any further damage from being done” once they found out about the site’s religious significance, the head of a Christian group said she heard it was being “destroyed with bulldozers”.
Gladys Sabbagh, the superior general of the Basilian Salvatorian Sisters, told the Associated Press that the convent included a school that had been closed since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, as well as a clinic that was recently moved to the nearby village of Rmeich.
She described the convent as a small compound housing just two nuns, who left because of the war.
The Israeli foreign ministry shared images of what it says is the building, intact, and added that Hezbollah used the compound in the past to fire rockets toward Israel on several occasions.
In reply, the Catholic Church in Lebanon rejected claims that the compound was used for military purposes.
Reverend Abdo Abou Kassm, director of the Catholic Center for Information, said: “We are against all practices against places of worship and churches.
“These are places to spread peace, love and education. These are not military bases.”
For context: This incident comes around two weeks after an Israeli soldier smashed a statue of Jesus in the village of Debel.
Following widespread international criticism, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the image “in the strongest terms”.
Two Israeli soldiers were then jailed for 30 days and removed from combat duty.
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