IDF says sledgehammer photo circulating online is authentic and is being viewed with ‘great severity’
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”.
