‘HE SMASHED CHRIST’ – IDF SOLDIER CAUGHT ON CAMERA DESTROYING JESUS STATUE IN LEBANON AS NETANYAHU BEGS FOR FORGIVENESS

In a jaw-dropping act of sacrilege that has ignited global fury, an Israeli soldier was filmed using the blunt edge of an axe to violently smash a crucifix to pieces in the quiet Christian village of Debel, southern Lebanon. The gut-wrenching image—showing a uniformed IDF soldier mid-swing, obliterating a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross—was blasted across social media over the weekend by Palestinian reporter Younis Tirawi. The location, verified by Reuters, is one of the few villages where terrified Christian residents remained huddled in their homes during Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah. Priest Fadi Falfel, his voice shaking, told reporters: “One of the Israeli soldiers broke the cross and did this horrible thing—this desecration of our holy symbols.” The shrine, a small garden crucifix belonging to a local family, now lies in ruins.

In an extraordinary and rare cascade of condemnation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and the Israeli military rushed to distance themselves from the act, calling it a violation of “Jewish values of tolerance.” “I was stunned and saddened,” Netanyahu wrote on X. Saar groveled further, saying, “We apologize for this incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt.” But for the besieged Christians of Debel—now under effective Israeli occupation despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire—apologies ring hollow. “We thought the ceasefire would bring us relief, but we’re still surrounded,” Falfel said. “We have every kind of crisis.” As the IDF claims to investigate, the image of a soldier swinging an axe at Christ stands as a shocking symbol of how low the conflict has sunk—and how little protection remains for the region’s terrified Christian minority.