JERUSALEM, April 20 — The Israeli army said yesterday that it was looking into the authenticity of an image circulating on social media that appears to show a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ with a hammer.

Spokesman Nadav Shoshani said on X that the army “is currently examining the reliability of the photograph”.

“If this is indeed a real, recent picture, these actions do not align with the IDF’s values and the behavior expected of IDF soldiers. The incident will be investigated thoroughly and in depth, and if necessary, steps will be taken in accordance with the findings,” he added.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross.

Arab media reports indicated that the statue was in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel.

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

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in early March when Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in support of Iran.

Israel responded with massive strikes across the country and an invasion of the south.

Israeli troops have remained in the area despite a ceasefire between the two countries that entered into force on Friday. — AFP