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ITALIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN Lebanon have replaced a crucifix that was damaged by an Israeli soldier.
On Monday, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that an image circulating on social media showing a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus is authentic and depicted one of its troops.
The sculpture was located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel.
The image showed an Israeli soldier about to use a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross.
Lebanon |
— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) April 19, 2026
An Israeli soldier smashing the head of a Jesus Christ statue during operations in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/Sj1m16tj9q
In a post on X on Tuesday, the IDF said the damaged sculpture was replaced by troops “in full coordination with the local community”.
The IDF shared a photo of its new crucifix but it bore no resemblance to the one that had been damaged by its troops.
A short while ago, in full coordination with the local community of Debel in southern Lebanon, the damaged statue was replaced by IDF troops. The Northern Command worked to coordinate the replacement of the statue from the moment it received the report of the incident.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 21, 2026
The IDF… pic.twitter.com/nGh1s1iia1
The IDF’s crucifix also appeared to be in a different location and was propped up against a nearby tree, as opposed to being planted firmly into the ground like the original crucifix.
It was also much smaller than the original statue that had been damaged by an Israeli soldier.
It has since emerged that it was in fact Italian peacekeepers working with UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) who have replaced the statue and brought it back to its former state.
It was actually Italy that sent a new crucifix to replace the one destroyed by an IDF soldier. Papal Nuncio Paolo Borgia visited the church in Debel to bless the corpus before it was installed on the cross by Italian UNIFIL forces.
— Christine Niles (@ChristineNiles1) April 22, 2026
The Israeli replacement is actually quite small… https://t.co/neUtCwJT1n pic.twitter.com/rglrArpt6W
Roya News in Lebanon reported that Italy had sent a more suitable replacement and that this was organised as part of Italy’s role within UNIFIL.
Lebanese media have since published photos showing that the statue donated by Italy more closely resembles the original statue and has been installed in the original location.
Other images posted by Lebanese media appear to show the crucifix provided by the IDF being moved elsewhere.
They did post a video a few hours ago of a cross that looks identical to the one the IDF provided so this seems erroneous. I believe they just repaired and reerected the old statue as well. pic.twitter.com/xwawl9Sx89
— Oscar de Boethus 🍇 (@judeovelli) April 22, 2026
The Apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, was present to bless the new statue.
Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera reported that an Italian priest serving with UNIFIL said the new crucifix was installed by Italian peacekeepers.
The Times of Israel has also reported that it was in fact Italian peacekeepers who replaced the statue.
Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon”.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said two soldiers would receive 30 days of military detention and be removed from combat duty over the destruction of the statue.
The military added that six other soldiers who “were present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it” had been summoned for “clarification discussions”.
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