After more than a decade of dedication to promoting peace in Lebanon, French nun Sister Beatrice Mauger, founder of the "Ark of Peace" hermitage in Qaouzah, was taken by Israeli soldiers to Israel on 15th October, but has now safely returned to France.

According to Lorient Today, Sister Beatrice, 60, moved to Qaouzah over ten years ago to foster "reconciliation and peace" among communities in southern Lebanon.

She built her hermitage, supported by the Maronite archbishopric of Sour, creating a sanctuary surrounded by a park for animals.

A security source confirmed that Sister Beatrice was forcibly taken by Israeli soldiers, spending her first night in a tent before being moved to Nahariya, where she was questioned.

Following her interrogation, Israeli authorities allegedly transferred her to the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL), which handed her over to Lebanese Army intelligence, who ultimately arranged her return to France in coordination with the French embassy.

During recent escalations in southern Lebanon, Sister Beatrice had chosen to remain at her hermitage despite the rising tensions.

She later reported the destruction of her sanctuary amid fighting and the loss of a dromedary that lived there.