The Israeli military said on Monday it had sentenced two soldiers to imprisonment after one of them was photographed placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon.

“At the conclusion of the investigation, the soldier documented carrying out the act was sentenced to 21 days of military prison, and the soldier who filmed the incident was sentenced to 14 days of military prison,” the military said on Monday.

In a separate post on X, military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Ariella Mazor said: “The IDF views the incident with utmost severity and emphasises that the conduct of the soldier completely deviates from the values expected of its personnel.”