Lebanese Christians in Debel are celebrating the gift of a new statue of Jesus on the Cross after a recent act of desecration by two Israeli soldiers drew global outrage.

At the time, Father Felefli told the BBC, “We totally reject the desecration of the Cross, our sacred symbol, and all religious symbols. It goes against the declaration of human rights, and it doesn’t reflect civility.” He also said that similar acts had happened before.

Father Felefli told OSV News that a new statue from Lebanon resembling the one that had been destroyed came with the assistance of Italian troops serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, which includes soldiers from 48 nations serving in southern Lebanon.

A video posted on Facebook showed blue-helmet UNIFIL soldiers from Italy carrying the statue encased in a white cloth which they tenderly removed as one soldier could be seen planting a kiss on the head of Jesus on the crucifix. It was then taken inside the town’s church where it was displayed before the congregation and later erected outside by the townspeople. A picture of a UNIFIL soldier can be seen standing in front of the crucifix in prayer.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the Italian soldiers, saying: “I thank Commander Diodato Abagnara and the entire Italian contingent of UNIFIL for their decision to donate a new crucifix to the Lebanese village of Debel.”

“The images of the statue’s delivery to the community and its placement, in the same spot where the statue was destroyed a few days earlier by an Israeli soldier, fill my heart and convey a powerful message of hope, dialogue, and peace,” she said.

One of the Lebanese women, Alice Hajj, posted on Facebook: “Hallelujah… JESUS will never leave us, we are a people who believe in Him and live in him every moment in our lives.”

“We believe that God, in his divine power, has put Debel on the world map to protect it, to hear its voice, and to remind the world that faith is never defeated, no matter how dark it gets,” said one town person, who is not named. 

“He who destroyed the Cross did not realize its meaning. After the cross comes the resurrection. What some thought is weakness has become our strength. The cross was and will remain our protector, our hope and the sign of our salvation,” the person said. 

“Recently our suffering has increased greatly. It has deeply wounded our homes and broken hearts,” Father Felefli said in a video posted on the site recounting the deaths of a Maronite Catholic priest, Father Pierre al-Rahi, and others in southern Lebanon as a result of the war between Israel and Hezbollah that started on March 2. Numerous houses and businesses have been destroyed.  

“We have faced many obstacles, but we are steadfast because we have placed our trust in God,” the priest said.

Father Felefli told OSV News that the Israeli Defense Forces made a gift of a different crucifix to the town “which is now inside the church.”

“Only the papal nuncio to Lebanon was allowed by the Israeli military to travel to Debel because he is a foreigner,” Michel Constantin, who is Lebanese and did not attend the crucifix restoration ceremony, told OSV News April 23. Constantin is the regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission in Lebanon and Syria. 

“The area of southern Lebanon is under Israeli occupation, where its military is searching the area and occupying some of the houses,” Constantin said.

CNEWA-Pontifical Mission has been at the forefront of providing humanitarian aid to Lebanese in the south and Beirut.