JERUSALEM: A photo showing the desecration of a crucifix smashed by an Israeli soldier in a southern Lebanese village, home to Christians, drew widespread condemnation from church leaders on Monday.

The cross was part of a small shrine in the garden of a family living on the edge of the village, said Fadi Falfel, a priest in Debel.

“One of the Israeli soldiers broke the cross and did this horrible thing, this desecration of our holy symbols,” he said.

He said, “We thought the ceasefire would bring us some relief but were still surrounded.”

Debel is one of dozens of villages in Lebanon under illegal Israeli occupation.

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, including Jerusalem’s Cath-olic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said the act “constitutes a grave affront to the Christian faith”.

Amid the outrage, the US and Israeli authorities condemned the act.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2026