Controversy has arisen due to footage from the village of Debl showing IDF engineering vehicles destroying solar panels near the village during operations against Hezbollah in the area.
The village, which sits near the Israeli border, has for decades been considered one of the communities most identified with Israel and the South Lebanon Army (SLA), as 220 of its residents fell fighting alongside the IDF.
According to the villagers, the panels that were destroyed served as one of their central sources of power and water.
They were located on land belonging to Colonel Aqel Hashem, a senior SLA commander who was murdered by Hezbollah in 2000.
Jonathan Elkhoury, a member of an SLA family who resides in Israel, criticized the action, claiming the panels were civilian infrastructure that had no connection to Hezbollah.
According to Elkhoury, the damage to the infrastructure could directly affect the residents who depend on such systems to provide basic services.
This is not the first incident to occur recently in the village. Earlier this month, footage from the village showed an IDF soldier destroying a statue of Jesus, sending shockwaves around the world and causing the IDF to replace it with a new statue.
In response to the footage documenting the destruction of solar panels, the IDF Spokesperson said: “The actions seen in the video do not align with IDF values or the conduct expected of its soldiers. The incident is under investigation. Based on the findings, command measures will be taken accordingly."