The dissemination of the image of a damaged statue of Jesus in Debel, in southern Lebanon, was followed by a series of misleading content on social networks: between images generated by AI and unverified accusations, the affair quickly gave rise to several falsehoods.

Published on: 04/30/2026 - 1:49 p.m.

The scene provoked reactions even in the highest echelons of the Israeli state. In Debel, a Christian village in southern Lebanon, an Israeli soldier was photographed smashing a statue of a crucified Jesus into the face with a sledgehammer. The image, distributed massively on Sunday April 19 on social networks, quickly went around the world after being relayed by several influential accounts, including that of Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi, whose publication had more than 13 million views.

Faced with the scale of the controversy, the Israeli authorities recognized the facts and apologized. “I condemn this act in the strongest terms,” declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 20.

The Israeli army also reacted in a message published on

But beyond the indignation, the affair also triggered a wave of misinformation and controversies online, with several Internet users relaying false images and misleading stories around the incident.

AI-generated images

The day after the Israeli army's publication on X, several Internet users claimed that the army had replaced the damaged statue. In support of this rumor, two images widely relayed on social networks with almost a million views show an Israeli soldier wiping a statue of Christ placed back on his cross, then kneeling in front of it in a second scene.

But several visual elements, notably the excessively smooth appearance of the textures, suggest images generated by artificial intelligence. By analyzing them with Google detection tools, a SynthID watermark was identified. This marking, invisible to the naked eye, is specific to content produced or modified by Google's generative AI models. When asked directly, Gemini, Google's chatbot, confirms that the two images were "made with Google's AI".

On April 21, the Israeli army finally confirmed on X that it had replaced the crucifix, supporting photo. The photo shows a small wooden cross installed in the same garden, in Debel, where the damaged statue previously stood.

This publication quickly attracted widespread criticism. Several Internet users pointed out that this new crucifix bore very little resemblance to the old one: smaller, made of wood and without the statue of Christ.

Contacted by the Observers editorial team, Eli Zaknoun, activist and resident of Debel, explains that the cross sent by the Israeli army was especially unsuitable: according to him, it is a crucifix intended for indoor use, while the original location required an ordeal designed for outdoors.

It was ultimately the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which carried out the definitive replacement. On April 23, Italian peacekeepers installed a new crucifix, donated by Italy, exactly where the desecrated statue stood.

A stolen cross?

After the image was released showing the small wooden cross offered by Israel, some Internet users claimed that it had in fact been stolen from another church. To support this accusation, they relayed a photo showing this same crucifix in another place.

But according to Eli Zaknoun, resident of Debel, this interpretation is misleading. He explains that this photo was taken on the day of the installation of the new cross offered by Italy: the wooden crucifix had simply been moved to make room for the new calvary installed by UNIFIL.

If the affair of the desecrated cross has generated widespread media coverage and numerous reactions online, Eli Zaknoun emphasizes that, for the inhabitants of Debel, the priorities lie elsewhere. Beyond the controversies surrounding the religious object and the rumors that have circulated, their attention remains focused on the security situation in southern Lebanon, marked by continued Israeli bombings.

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