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  "path": "/partner/israel-pm-vows-harsh-action-against-soldier-vandalizing-jesus-statue-in-lebanon",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-20T12:51:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed \"harsh action\" on Monday against a soldier caught on camera vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.\n\nThe photo, which the military determined was authentic after it spread online, shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.\n\nThe sculpture is located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel, the local municipality told AFP, but officials could not say whether it had been damaged. AFP is currently unable to access the village.\n\n\"I was stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon,\" Netanyahu wrote on X.\n\n\"I condemn the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender,\" he added.\n\nIsrael has conducted airstrikes across Lebanon and invaded the country's south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support Iran on March 2.\n\nThe fighting killed nearly 2,300 people and displaced more than a million before a ceasefire came into effect last week. Israel has lost 15 soldiers in the war.\n\nThe military said it had determined after an investigation that the image circulating on social media was genuine and showed an Israeli soldier operating in southern Lebanon.\n\nIt said in a post on its official X account that it viewed the incident with \"great severity\", adding that the \"soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops\".\n\nThe army said \"appropriate measures will be taken against those involved\" but did not go into further detail.\n\nIt said it is working with the community to \"restore the statue to its place\".\n\nAdeeb Joudeh AlHusseini, the custodian of the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, condemned the incident in a statement.\n\n\"This is not a passing incident, it is a direct violation of a sanctity that goes beyond stone and wood to strike at the dignity of faith itself,\" AlHusseini said.\n\nThe act exposes \"the fragility of rhetoric that claims respect for religions while practices on the ground contradict it\", he added, calling for a \"clear and unequivocal stance that puts an end to any violation of sacred sites\".\n\nIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also condemned the \"shameful and disgraceful\" conduct.\n\n\"I am confident that necessary severe measures will be taken against whoever committed this ugly act,\" he wrote on X.\n\n\"We apologise for this incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt.\"\n\nIsraeli troops remain in southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire.",
  "title": "Israel PM vows 'harsh action' against soldier vandalizing Jesus statue in Lebanon"
}