A woman checks a social media post on her mobile phone featuring an image that appears to show an Israeli soldier hitting a statue of Jesus Christ in the southern Lebanese Christian village of Debl, in Beirut.

• Israel jailed the soldiers involved in damaging a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon.
• Six additional soldiers who were present at the scene have been summoned for “clarification discussions”.
• The damaged sculpture in Debl was replaced by troops.

The Israeli military on Tuesday said two soldiers would receive 30 days of military detention and be removed from combat duty over the destruction of a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.

The decision comes after widespread condemnation of a photo shared online showing an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.

The sculpture was located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel.

Publishing the conclusions of an inquiry into the incident, the military said: “The soldier who damaged the Christian symbol and the soldier who photographed the act will be removed from combat duty and will receive 30 days of military detention.”

It said six additional soldiers who “were present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it” had been summoned for “clarification discussions”.

READ | Israel minister slams IDF soldier’s desecration of crucifix in Lebanon as disgraceful

Israel has conducted airstrikes across Lebanon and invaded the country’s south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran on 2 March.

The fighting has killed more than 2 400 people and displaced more than a million, with the death toll continuing to rise even after a ceasefire came into effect last week, as more bodies are found under the rubble.

Israel has lost 15 soldiers in the war.

“The inquiry determined that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values,” the military statement said.

It added that “its operations in Lebanon are directed solely against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and other terrorist groups, and not against Lebanese civilians.”

In a post on X, the Israeli military said the damaged sculpture in Debl was replaced by troops “in full coordination with the local community”, sharing a photo of a new crucifix statue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said on Monday he was “stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon”, vowing “harsh disciplinary action against the offender”.