{"id":321881,"date":"2026-04-20T21:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=321881"},"modified":"2026-04-20T21:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:08:08","slug":"israeli-soldier-pictured-smashing-up-a-statue-of-jesus-with-a-sledgehammer-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/israeli-soldier-pictured-smashing-up-a-statue-of-jesus-with-a-sledgehammer-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli soldier pictured smashing up a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The soldier was seen smashing the weapon onto the crucifix, which had been turned the other way up (Picture: X)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An Israeli soldier was photographed hitting the pinnacle of Jesus Christ in a crucifix with a sledgehammer, sparking outrage and condemnation.<\/p>\n

The photo, taken in southern Lebanon, where Israel is continuous their campaign to determine a \u2018buffer region\u2019 outside of its own territory, prompted outcry from outstanding politicians. <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the photo was real, writing on X: \u2018I condemn the act within the strongest terms. We make an apology for the incident, and for any hurt this has caused to believers in Lebanon and all over the world.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Israeli Defence Forces said in a press release: \u2018The IDF views the incident with great severity and emphasises that the soldier\u2019s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops.<\/p>\n

\u2018The IDF is working to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and has no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or religious symbols.\u2019<\/p>\n

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A ten-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was announced days ago (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The apology has fallen on deaf ears, nonetheless, with many declaring that previously, the IDF has fired on other religious sites.<\/p>\n

In 2024, an airstrike killed eight individuals who were sheltering contained in the St George Melkite Catholic Church in Derdghaya, Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The strike was rebuked by Pope Francis, who called for a ceasefire in Lebanon. The IDF said the strike was targeting militants who were operating nearby. <\/p>\n

Last summer, Gaza\u2019s only\u00a0Catholic church\u00a0\u2013 a refuge for a lot of Christians during\u00a0Israel\u2019s war on Palestinians \u2013 was bombed. Two people were killed and several other, including the parish priest, were injured.<\/p>\n

Father Gabriel Romanelli was very near the late\u00a0Pope Francis,\u00a0and the 2 spoke every night because the starting of\u00a0Israel\u2019s massacre in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Fadel Naem, the acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, said each Christians and Muslims had been sheltering inside on the time of the attack.<\/p>\n

They included several young children with disabilities, one among whom was injured.<\/p>\n

Why are Israel and Lebanon fighting?<\/h2>\n
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Greater than 1,000,000 Lebanese people have been displaced (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hezbollah fired missiles across the border days after the\u00a0US\u00a0and Israel attacked Iran, resparking a lengthy regional conflict.<\/p>\n

Israel responded with widespread bombardment of\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0and a ground invasion, and claims to have killed lots of of Hezbollah fighters.<\/p>\n

Israel has killed greater than 1,530 people in\u00a0Lebanon, including greater than 100 women and 130 children, within the attacks. A couple of million people have been displaced in\u00a0Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Days ago, Trump\u00a0boasted that he was near ending his tenth war after Israel and Lebanon agreed on a 10-day ceasefire.<\/p>\n

He said he wanted a \u2018lasting peace\u2019 between the nations, adding: \u2018It has been my Honor to unravel 9 Wars across the World, and this can be my tenth, so let\u2019s, GET IT DONE! President DONALD J. TRUMP\u2019.<\/p>\n

Chatting with reporters on the White House lawn, he said Hezbollah can be included within the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n

Trump expected Aoun and Netanyahu to satisfy in the following week or two, before saying the White House meeting between the Mideast leaders could occur in the following 4 or five days.<\/p>\n

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Even Mar-a-Lago\u2019s own priest backs the Pope over Trump<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: No hazardous materials found near Israeli embassy after drone attack threat<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Trump says \u2018let\u2019s get it done\u2019 after Israel and Lebanon agree 10-day ceasefire<\/span><\/p>\n

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The soldier was seen smashing the weapon onto the crucifix, which had been turned the other way up (Picture: X) An Israeli soldier was photographed hitting the pinnacle of Jesus Christ in a crucifix with a sledgehammer, sparking outrage and condemnation. The photo, taken in southern Lebanon, where Israel is continuous their campaign to determine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":321882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[12209,25946,395,32224,50823,24586,10634,1715,813],"class_list":["post-321881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-israeli","tag-jesus","tag-news","tag-pictured","tag-sledgehammer","tag-smashing","tag-soldier","tag-statue","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321881"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321884,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321881\/revisions\/321884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}