An image showing an Israeli soldier using a jackhammer to smash a statue of Jesus on a cross in southern Lebanon went viral on social media on Sunday.
Israel has occupied several areas in southern Lebanon since launching its war on the country on March 2. A ceasefire came into effect on Friday.
Members of the Christian community say the statue is in the village of Debel, a Maronite Christian town about six kilometres northwest of Ain Ebel and roughly five kilometres from the Israeli border community of Shtula.
The image sparked immediate outrage online, including among some former allies of US President Donald Trump.
Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted mockingly on X under the image: “’Our greatest ally’ that takes billions of our tax dollars and weapons every year.”
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Greene, once a Trump ally, has since turned on the US president over the Epstein files and his decision to follow Israel into a war on Iran, which she has condemned.
Similarly, Matt Gaetz, a former Republican congressman, described the image as “horrific”.
The backlash from figures within the MAGA movement is likely to further damage Israel’s image among one of its strongest support bases in the US – evangelical Christians.
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Regional analyst Muhammad Shehada captioned the image “’Judeo-Christian values’ in Israel”, referencing a phrase Israel often uses to bolster support in the West.
The municipality of Debel told AFP the statue is located in the village but could not confirm whether it had been damaged.
Under Israeli rule, Christians in Israel and the occupied West Bank have faced a growing wave of attacks, from daily harassment to the destruction of religious sites.
Clergy have reported being spat on and physically assaulted, while churches, cemeteries and other Christian symbols have been vandalised.
These attacks, often linked to ultra-Orthodox Jews, religious nationalists and settlers, have frequently gone unchecked, with Israeli police accused of failing to intervene.
Responding to the latest incident, an Israeli military spokesman did not deny the image’s authenticity, saying on X that “If this photo is indeed real and recent,” then it is not in line with the army’s “values”.