Israeli soldier's desecration of crucifix in south Lebanon draws condemnation

A photo showing the desecration of a crucifix smashed by an Israeli soldier in a southern Lebanese village home to Christians drew widespread condemnation on Monday ​from Israeli leaders, the United States and church leaders.

A photo that emerged online over the weekend shows ‌a soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross. It was posted by Younis Tirawi, a Palestinian reporter who has also posted images of Israeli soldiers’ apparent misconduct in Gaza.

Reuters verified the location of the image as Debel, one ​of the few villages in southern Lebanon where residents remained through an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah that began on March 2 after the group fired rockets at Israel in support ⁠of Iran.

The cross was part of a small shrine in the garden of a family living on the edge of ​the village, said Fadi Falfel, a priest in Debel.

“One of the Israeli soldiers broke the cross and did this horrible thing, ​this desecration of our holy symbols,” he said.

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, which includes Jerusalem’s Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said in a statement that the act “constitutes a grave affront to the Christian faith”.

Read More: Israeli soldier filmed smashing Jesus statue in southern Lebanon: report

“It further reveals a disturbing failure in moral and human ​formation, wherein even the most elementary reverence for the sacred and for the dignity of others has been gravely compromised,” ​the statement said.

In a statement, the assembly expressed “profound indignation” and “unreserved condemnation” of the reported act, calling it a serious violation of Christian religious values.

“This act constitutes a grave affront to the Christian faith,” the statement said, adding that it follows other reported incidents involving the desecration of Christian symbols by Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.

It called for “immediate and decisive disciplinary action”, as well as “a credible process of accountability, and clear assurances that such conduct will neither be tolerated nor repeated”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the soldier’s actions went against Jewish values of tolerance and that he would be ‌punished.

“I was ⁠stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon. I condemn the act in the strongest terms,” he wrote on X.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on X that “swift, severe and public consequences are needed.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the soldier’s actions were disgraceful and shameful. “We apologise for this incident and to ​every Christian whose feelings were ​hurt,” Saar said on X.

The ⁠Israeli military said the incident was being investigated.

“The IDF views the incident with great severity and emphasises that the soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected ​of its troops,” the military said. “The IDF is working to assist the community in restoring ​the statue to ⁠its place.”

Debel is one of dozens of villages in south Lebanon now under effective Israeli occupation. Israel and Lebanon on Thursday agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire intended to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

“We have every kind of crisis,” Falfel said.

“We thought the ceasefire ⁠would bring ​us some relief but we’re still surrounded, unable to travel to and ​from the town. There are some houses on the edge of town that we’re barred from accessing.”

Israeli military officials say they are working with aid ​agencies to meet the humanitarian needs of Debel and other villages.