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.”
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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