Israeli army investigates soldier seen striking Jesus statue in Lebanon

The Israeli army has said it is investigating a soldier who was seen apparently striking a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces said they had determined that an image circulating on social media showing the incident was authentic. 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 a cross.

The sculpture is located in Debl, a Christian village in south Lebanon near the border with Israel, the local municipality has said. Officials could not say whether it had been damaged.

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

“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,” the army said.

It said the incident was being investigated by the army’s Northern Command and was being “addressed through the chain of command”. “Appropriate measures will be taken against those involved,” it said. It did not go into further detail, only saying it was working with the community to “restore the statue to its place”.

Israel’s 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 the Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in support of Iran. Israel responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and an invasion of the south. Israeli troops have remained in the south despite a ceasefire between the two countries that began on Friday.