Residents of Debel, a Christian village in southern Lebanon, restored a crucifix resembling one destroyed by an Israeli soldier, with assistance from Italian troops serving in the United Nations peacekeeping mission.
The replacement was brought to the village ahead of an installation ceremony on April 22 attended by Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the Vatican’s envoy to Lebanon, parish priest Father Fadi Felefli told OSV News. Video described by the outlet showed Italian UNIFIL personnel carrying the covered statue and unveiling it before it was displayed inside St. George Church. Townspeople later erected it outside.
The ceremony followed condemnation of an image showing an Israeli soldier striking the fallen original with the blunt side of an axe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials apologized after the image circulated, according to OSV News.
The Israel Defense Forces said an internal inquiry found that the conduct exceeded its orders. The soldier who damaged the religious symbol and another who photographed the act were removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days in military prison, The Jerusalem Post reported. Six other soldiers who were present were called to further discussions about possible command action.
Two replacement crucifixes were involved. The replica assisted by the Italian UNIFIL contingent matched the statue that had been broken and was placed outside by villagers. Separately, the Israeli military gave Debel another crucifix, which Felefli said remained inside the church. The Jerusalem Post reported that residents preferred the replica to the military’s gift.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the Italian contingent for donating the new crucifix. The restoration returned a familiar religious landmark to Debel while the disciplinary response established that the destruction was outside the Israeli military’s authorized conduct.
