Italian peacekeepers have replaced a statue of Jesus Christ in the southern Lebanese village of Debel after an Israeli soldier was documented damaging the original figure with a tool.
The incident, which sparked international condemnation, led to a formal apology from Israel and the detention of two soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the act as “wholly inconsistent with the values expected” of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The restoration took place on Wednesday as Italian peacekeepers escorted Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the Vatican’s ambassador to Lebanon, into the village. They were met by residents with ringing church bells and applause.
Debel, a predominantly Christian community, has been largely isolated due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Residents report that Israeli troops, who currently occupy the town along with dozens of others in the region, strictly limit movement, leaving the remaining 1,600 inhabitants struggling with shortages of food, medicine, and stable internet.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the peacekeeping contingent, noting that the images of the new statue being placed in its original garden are “heart-warming and send a powerful message of hope, dialogue and peace.”
While Israel also provided a replacement crucifix that has been donated to the local parish, the village’s priest, Father Fadi Felefli, emphasized the importance of the gesture from the Italian forces in providing comfort to a traumatized population.
Regarding the soldiers involved in the vandalism, Father Felefli maintained a stance of reconciliation rooted in his faith.
He told CNN that the community accepted the apology in hopes of easing the “suffocated” conditions in the village, adding, “We are the sons of peace and sons of forgiveness; like Jesus said when he was being crucified, ‘God forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.’”