Two Israeli soldiers jailed over smashing of Jesus statue in Lebanon village

Israel Defense Forces say the ‘soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and value’ Two Israeli soldiers have been removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days in jail after one used a sledgehammer to smash a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon while the other filmed him, the Israel Defense Forces have said. An image circulating on social media on Monday showed an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen from its cross in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, prompting outrage among Christian communities worldwide. After determining the authenticity of the photo, the Israel Defense Forces launched an investigation. Its findings concluded “the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values”. The IDF said it had removed from combat duty both the soldier who damaged the statue and the one who filmed the act, sentencing them to 30 days in military prison. This type of punishment is relatively rare in the Israeli military, according to rights groups. In 2025, the conflict-monitoring group Action on Armed Violence said it had found Israel had closed down or l