Two Israeli soldiers have been sentenced to 30 days in military detention and removed from combat duty after one used a sledgehammer to smash a statue of Jesus in the southern Lebanese village of Debel, while the other filmed the act. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the punishment on Tuesday following an internal inquiry that concluded "the soldiers' conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values."

The incident came to light when an image circulated widely on social media, showing a soldier striking the head of a crucified Jesus statue that had fallen from its cross outside a family home on the outskirts of Debel — one of the few villages in southern Lebanon where civilians have remained during Israel's ongoing military campaign against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. The IDF said six additional soldiers who were present at the scene and failed to intervene or report the incident would face separate disciplinary proceedings. In an apparent gesture of reconciliation, Israeli troops replaced the damaged statue, the IDF said, "in full coordination with the local community."

The desecration drew swift and broad condemnation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "stunned and saddened," while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar apologised "to every Christian whose feelings were hurt." The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, voiced "deep indignation" and called the act a "grave affront to the Christian faith," warning it was part of a broader pattern of incidents involving Christian symbols. The head of Debel's congregation, Father Fadi Flaifel, told the BBC: "We totally reject the desecration of the cross, our sacred symbol," and claimed similar incidents had occurred before. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, called for "swift, severe, and public consequences."

Rights groups noted the punishment was relatively rare in the Israeli military context. The conflict-monitoring organisation Action on Armed Violence reported in 2025 that Israel had closed or left unresolved 88% of alleged misconduct cases in Gaza and the West Bank, and in a recent separate case charges were dropped against soldiers accused of abusing a detainee.

The episode unfolds against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by the United States, under which thousands of Israeli troops continue to occupy parts of southern Lebanon. Christians make up an estimated one-third of Lebanon's population of roughly 5.5 million. Since Israel launched its military campaign in Lebanon on 2 March, Lebanese authorities say more than 2,290 people have been killed and over a million displaced, while Israeli officials report 13 soldiers and two civilians killed in Hezbollah attacks during the same period.