(LifeSiteNews) — The Israeli military struck and heavily damaged a convent belonging to the Greek Catholic Basilian Salvatorian Sisters in the southern Lebanese town of Yaroun, drawing sharp criticism from Christian organizations worldwide.

The facility, which supported local schools, had been evacuated earlier in the conflict, with its two resident religious sisters safely relocated.

The French Catholic charity L’Œuvre d’Orient, which is associated with the apostolate, denounced the bulldozer demolition as a “deliberate act,” arguing it forms part of a broader Israeli campaign of systematic destruction aimed at discouraging displaced residents from returning home.

BREAKING: The Israeli army demolished a monastery and a school run by the Sisters of the Holy Savior in the southern Lebanese town of Yaroun. pic.twitter.com/1qqAi7LVBm

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) May 1, 2026

Father Charbel Naddaf, priest of the Yaroun parish, confirmed Friday that Israel carried out the demolition of the convent and its associated school. He denounced this deliberate destruction as “a flagrant violation of international law,” according to L’Orient Today.

The Melkite Greek Catholic priest continued to explain that despite any of Israel’s statements with regard to this incident, its objective is to “empty the area of its inhabitants and prevent their return,” something the Israeli army continues to accomplish “in the absence of any deterrent.”

“They destroy houses and places of worship, and no one stops them,” the priest explained, demanding Lebanese authorities and the international community intervene.

Responding to the demolition was former congressional representative Margorie Taylor Greene, who implored in a Friday tweet posting the report, “American Christians speak out!!! America can’t be silent and must stop funding Israel to do such atrocities!!!”

American Christians speak out!!!
America can’t be silent and must stop funding Israel to do such atrocities!!! https://t.co/zGQyUNj9ZD

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 1, 2026

“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?” European Parliament member Nathalie Loiseau challenged.

After similar deliberate destructions of Catholic Church property by the Israeli army in Lebanon in 2024, including the filmed destruction of a previous monastery and a statue of St. George, Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Ibrahim Mikail Ibrahim, metropolitan of Zahle and the Bekaa in Lebanon, condemned in a statement the “crime of destruction,” saying that “what happened is not a mere passing aggression, but a blatant and unacceptable violation of all human values and international law, as well as a direct attack on the educational and spiritual mission of the Church.”

The archbishop affirmed 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.” He emphasized that the targeting of a monastery and a school equivalent to attacking “childhood, knowledge, and the hope for a better future.”

Israeli anti-Christian attacks escalating

LifeSiteNews has documented what appears to be a disturbing escalation in attacks by Israeli soldiers and settlers against Christians, their clergy, and religious property across the Holy Land and Lebanon.

On April 19, a photograph surfaced on X and other social media outlets showing an Israeli soldier smashing the head of the statue of Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer. The image quickly went viral and sparked global outrage among Christians, including the Catholic bishops of the Holy Land, which issued an “unreserved condemnation” of the desecration. Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa stated that the act “constitutes a grave affront to the Christian faith and adds to other reported incidents of desecration of Christian symbols by IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon.”

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jewish terrorists from illegal Israeli settlements have repeatedly terrorized the predominantly Christian town of Taybeh as well as other Palestinian communities. As has become a regular occurrence, masked settlers last July “stormed this Christian village … setting vehicles on fire, hurling rocks at homes, and spraying hateful graffiti on the walls.”

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem described the armed intruders as being on horseback, spreading terror and torching holy sites while also destroying farmland.

Last month, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem also called Jewish settler destruction of their Church-owned lands and trees using an excavator “a ‘red line.’”

In Jerusalem, physical assaults and harassment have surged. Last week, video captured a “brutal assault on (a) Catholic nun” who was slammed to the ground and kicked by a Jewish settler terrorist named Yonah Schreiber near King David’s tomb.

Yonah Schreiber was arrested in Jerusalem Tuesday after he viciously assaulted a French nun. Christians claim attacks are increasing under Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.

MORE: https://t.co/WxNE9dZMND pic.twitter.com/aAbRbKT8qe

— Christine Niles (@ChristineNiles1) May 2, 2026

Other reports document the common occurrence of Christian clergy and religious being spat on and harassed by Jewish terrorists in Jerusalem.

Such incidents have highlighted the persistent and even deadly aggressions from radical Jewish sects over land and security in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where Church properties have faced repeated pressures with Christians consistently warning their western co-religionists that radical Zionist movements, most often with government sanction, are seeking to drive them out of the Holy Land.

‘Israel is at war with the Catholic Church’

A Catholic priest who is a longtime resident in the city told LifeSiteNews in April that pressures against Christians have become increasingly more aggressive, frequent and violent over the last 10 to 15 years. Citing sources, he explained how the Israeli policy reflects an intentional effort “to limit church apostolic activity as much as possible without raising international alarm bells.”

In a recent monologue covering anti-Christian attacks, Tucker Carlson encouraged viewers to call Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and ask him, “Why in the world would you ever appropriate money to a government that is murdering Christians?”

For her part, Catholic journalist Christine Niles tweeted a question, asking, “Why are @realDonaldTrump and @VP allowing Israel to do this to Christians?”

And Catholic pro-life humanitarian leader Jason Jones simply observed that “Israel is at war with the Catholic Church.”

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