The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the authenticity of a viral image showing one of its soldiers smashing the face of a Jesus statue with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon, vowing to take “appropriate measures” against the soldier and to help locals repair the damage.
The image, which first surfaced on Sunday, appeared to show the uniformed soldier striking the fallen statue’s head in what local reports say is the Maronite Christian village of Debel, near the Israeli border, where Israel is waging a campaign against Hezbollah.
It spread rapidly online and prompted backlash from Christian communities in the region as well as prominent conservatives in the U.S., while the IDF said it was investigating.
The initial image drew rebuke from prominent conservatives in media and politics, including from Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to President Donald Trump.
Right-wing critics of the Trump administration, recently attacked by the president for speaking against his conflict with Iran, also weighed in to slam the image, including ex-Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and commentator Candace Owens.
Hellbound and Down 