In the wake of a weeks-long cross-border conflict that pulled Lebanon into the broader Middle East war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Sunday it is assessing the veracity of a viral social media image that purports to show an Israeli soldier vandalizing a Christian religious statue in southern Lebanon. The circulated photograph depicts a uniformed soldier swinging a sledgehammer at the decapitated head of a crucified Jesus statue, which has already fallen from its cross mounting. Regional Arab media outlets have identified the location of the statue as Debl, a majority Christian village situated in southern Lebanon, close to the tense border with Israel. When reached for comment by Agence France-Presse, representatives from Debl’s municipal government confirmed the statue existed at the village site but were unable to immediately corroborate reports that it had sustained damage amid the ongoing Israeli military presence in the area. The current crisis along the Israel-Lebanon border erupted in early March, when the Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah launched a large-scale rocket barrage targeting Israeli territory in a show of support for Iran amid the broader regional conflict. Israel responded with sweeping airstrikes across Lebanon and launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, where its troops have maintained a presence even after a bilateral ceasefire agreement between the two sides went into effect this past Friday. Addressing the viral image in a post on the social platform X, IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani stated that military command is currently reviewing the authenticity of the photograph. Shoshani added that if the image is confirmed to be genuine and depicts a recent incident involving an IDF soldier, the conduct shown in the image runs counter to the core values of the Israeli military and the standards of behavior required of all service members. He confirmed that the incident would receive a full, thorough investigation if verified, and that appropriate disciplinary or procedural actions would be taken in line with the investigation’s final findings.