Israel says image of soldier striking Jesus statue in Lebanon is authentic

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JERUSALEM – The Israeli army said on April 20 that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off from a cross.

Arab media reports indicated that the statue was in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel.

The Debl municipality told AFP that the statue was located in the village, but could not confirm whether it had been damaged.

The Israel army said it viewed the incident with “great severity”, adding that the “soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops”, in a post on its official X account on April 20.

“Following the completion of an initial examination regarding a photograph published earlier today of an IDF soldier harming a Christian symbol, it was determined that the photograph depicts an IDF soldier operating in southern Lebanon,” it said in the post.

The incident is being investigated by the Northern Command and is currently being “addressed through the chain of command”, the military added.

It said that “appropriate measures will be taken against those involved” but did not go into further detail.

The Israel army said that it is working with the community to “restore the statue to its place”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned what he called a “shameful and disgraceful” act.

“I am confident that necessary severe measures will be taken against whoever committed this ugly act,” he wrote on X.

“We apologise for this incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt.”

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in early March when Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in support of Iran.

Israel responded with massive strikes across the country and an invasion of the south.

Israeli troops have remained in the area despite a ceasefire between the two countries that entered into force on April 17. AFP