Melkite Catholic bishops express concern over Israeli demolitions in southern Lebanon

A branch of the Catholic church expressed deep concern Monday over reports that Israel was demolishing civilian and religious buildings in parts of southern Lebanon under its control, following allegations that a convent had been bulldozed.

The Council of Melkite Greek Catholic Bishops in Lebanon urged the Lebanese government and the United Nations to protect the property of civilians and religious institutions in southern Lebanon, citing in particular the village of Yaroun where officials said Israeli troops destroyed a Melkite convent earlier this month among other demolition. The bishops called the destruction of buildings, after residents of the area had evacuated, a "deep wound in the national and human conscience."

Israel took control of border areas in southern Lebanon in its latest war against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah ahead of a ceasefire on April 17 and has said it aims to root out the militants and their infrastructure in the area. It has asked residents to evacuate villages for their own safety.

The Israeli military said it does not intentionally target religious institutions, but said in a statement on Saturday that while destroying Hezbollah infrastructure in Yaroun, that it had damaged a house without religious signs, and that it had prevented further damage to the building after recognizing it was linked to a church.

The Israeli military said the building in Yaroun was part of a compound that Hezbollah militants had used in the past to fire rockets toward Israel, and it released photographs of an intact building at the site.

Adib Ajaka, a Christian community leader in Yaroun, told The Associated Press that the photos posted in the Israel statement were of another building next to the convent that housed a clinic and archbishopric, and that the Israeli military had bulldozed the convent. He handed over a photograph showing rubble next to the clinic building that he said were the remains of the convent.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond Monday to questions about the convent.

Adib, as well as a municipal official from Yaroun and Gladys Sabbagh, the superior general of the Basilian Salvatorian Sisters who had used the convent, all told The Associated Press that according to news they received, the convent had been bulldozed while residents were evacuated from the area. The municipal official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The French Catholic charity L'Oeuvre d'Orient condemned what it called the "deliberate act of destruction of a place of worship and the systematic destruction of homes in southern Lebanon aimed at preventing the return of civilian populations."