Israel Defense Force announced the replacement of a damaged statue of Jesus by one of its soldier in Lebanon

The incident happened in the village of Debel in southern Lebanon and thus prompted widespread condemnation after an image of it was widely shared online this week.

The Defense Force statement read: “A short while ago, in full coordination with the local community of Debel in southern Lebanon, the damaged statue was replaced by IDF troops.

“The Northern Command worked to coordinate the replacement of the statue from the moment it received the report of the incident.

“The IDF expresses deep regret over the incident, and is working to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.” It added

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” by what happened and vows to punish perpetrators.

According to IDF, the Israeli soldier who hit a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in Lebanon and the soldier who photographed the incident will receive 30 days of military detention.

The IDF also said the two soldiers – who have not been named – would be “removed from combat duty” following an inquiry.

It also said IDF troops had replaced the damaged statue “in full co-ordination with the local community” a short while ago.

It stressed that its operations in Lebanon were directed “solely” against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah “and other terrorist groups, and not against Lebanese civilians”.