The Israeli army confirms that the soldier photographed hitting a statue of Jesus is Israeli.

The soldier photographed lifting a sledgehammer to strike a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon is part of the Israeli army, as confirmed by them after opening an investigation on Sunday night.

“After a preliminary examination (…) it was established that this photograph shows a soldier from the Israeli forces on a mission in southern Lebanon,” the army wrote on their X account late on Monday night, as the picture circulates widely on social media.

Israel took control of several areas in southern Lebanon, a stronghold of Hezbollah, after the pro-Iranian movement attacked Israel on March 2 in retaliation for the Israeli-American offensive against Iran. A ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon on Friday.

“Appropriate measures will be taken against those involved, according to the findings of the investigation,” added the army, ensuring that they are handling the situation with “the utmost severity.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the act as “shameful and degrading.”

“I am convinced that necessary severe measures will be taken against the perpetrators of this heinous act,” he wrote on X.

“We apologize for this incident and to all Christians whose feelings have been hurt.”

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani announced that the army was examining the authenticity of the photograph.

The image shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a fallen crucified Jesus statue.

Arab media outlets claimed that the statue was located in the Christian village of Debl in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel.

The municipality of Debl told AFP that the statue was indeed in the village, but could not confirm that it had been damaged.

The Israeli army reiterated their commitment to “help the community put the statue back in place” and stated they “have no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or symbols.”

Israeli troops remained in the area and demolished new homes on Sunday, according to the Lebanese official news agency, ANI.

AFP