Two Israeli soldiers have been removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days in jail after one used a sledgehammer to smash a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon, while the other filmed him, the Israel Defense Forces have said.
An image circulating on social media on Monday showed an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen from its cross in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, prompting outrage across Christian communities worldwide.
After determining the authenticity of the photo, the Israel Defense Forces launched an investigation. Its findings concluded “the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values”, the military said.
As a result, the military said it had removed from combat duty both the soldier who damaged the statue and the one who filmed the act, sentencing them to 30 days in military prison.
This type of punishment is relatively rare in the Israeli military, according to rights groups.
In 2025, the conflict-monitoring group Action on Armed Violence said it had found that Israel had closed down or left unresolved 88% of cases of alleged misconduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
In a recent case, charges were dropped against soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Gaza detainee.
The investigation found that six other troops were “present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it”.
“The remaining troops who stood by have been summoned for clarification discussions that will be held later, after which further command-level measures will be determined,” the Israel Defense Forces said.
The military added that “procedures regarding conduct with religious institutions and symbols were reinforced to troops prior to their entry into the relevant areas, and will be reinforced again for all forces in the area following the incident.”
The Israeli military posted a photo on social media of the replacement crucifix, which appeared smaller but more ornate than the original statue smashed by the soldier, and said the sculpture was replaced by troops a short while ago, “in full coordination with the local community”.
Residents said the statue had stood on a crucifix outside a family home on the edge of Debel, one of the few villages where civilians have remained despite Israel’s ongoing war with Hezbollah.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was “stunned and saddened” by the incident, while the foreign minister, Gideon Saar, issued an apology “to every Christian whose feelings were hurt”.
The desecration drew condemnation in Lebanon and internationally, including from figures linked to the Vatican.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Monday voiced “deep indignation” and “unreserved condemnation” for the desecration and destruction of the sculpture. The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land in a statement signed by Pizzaballa called the act a “grave affront to the Christian faith” and part of “other reported incidents of desecration of Christian symbols”.
Commenting on the recent defacing of the Jesus statue, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said to the Italian broadcaster La7: “I would like to point out to Benjamin Netanyahu that Jesus himself went to Tyre and Sidon, in southern Lebanon. But he did not go there to kill; he went to multiply bread, to heal, to perform miracles – not to destroy.’’
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, said on X that “swift, severe, & public consequences are needed”. Rightwing commentators in the US were also quick to react, with Matt Gaetz describing the image as “horrific” as he shared it online.
Christians are estimated to make up around a third of Lebanon’s population of roughly 5.5 million people. Thousands of them were displaced from their homes in the country’s south during the war launched by Israel on 2 March, which has killed 2,290 people including 177 children and 100 healthcare workers, according to Lebanese authorities.
Reuters contributed to this report
