From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 23, 2026
UNIFIL troops replace Jesus statue smashed by IDF soldier in south Lebanon
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The statue of Jesus that was smashed by an Israeli soldier in the southern Lebanon village of Debel was replaced by a new statue donated by soldiers of UNIFIL’s Italian contingent.
The Israeli military also delivered a replacement statue following the incident, although smaller and styled differently from the original.
Lebanese media published photos showing that the statue donated by the UN peacekeepers more closely resembles the original statue.
Italian UNIFIL forces in Lebanon replaced the crucifix destroyed by an Israeli soldier using a heavy sledgehammer in the town of Debel, southern Lebanon, installing a new one pic.twitter.com/6EEMk96o3k
— Creativity (@Creativity15778) April 23, 2026
The statue delivered by the IDF is also seen in photos being carried by members of the community, as it was apparently moved elsewhere.
The Times of Israel Community.