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24-04-2026
BEIRUT: The Israeli soldier who hit a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in Lebanon and the soldier who photographed the incident will receive 30 days of military detention, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.
The IDF also said the two soldiers who have not been named would be “removed from combat duty” following an inquiry.
Another six soldiers who were at the scene and failed to intervene or report the incident will be dealt with separately, it added.
The incident in the village of Debel in southern Lebanon prompted widespread condemnation after an image of it was widely shared online this week. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” by what happened.
In its statement on Tuesday, the IDF said an inquiry into the incident had “determined that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values” and expressed “deep regret over the incident”.
It also said IDF troops had replaced the damaged statue “in full co-ordination with the local community” a short while ago.
It stressed that its operations in Lebanon were directed “solely” against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah “and other terrorist groups and not against Lebanese civilians”.
Locals had said the statue was on a crucifix outside a family home on the edge of Debel, one of the few villages where residents have remained during Israel’s war with Hezbollah.
The head of Debel’s congregation, Father Fadi Flaifel, told media after the incident: “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 claimed similar incidents had happened before.
Among those to condemn the incident was the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the representative of Israel’s most important ally who called on Monday for “swift, severe, and public consequences” following the “outrageous act”?
Netanyahu had expressed regret for the incident “and for any hurt this has caused to believers in Lebanon and around the world”.
Thousands of Israeli troops continue to occupy a wide area of southern Lebanon after a US-brokered ceasefire came into force between Israel and Lebanon on Friday. The ceasefire has paused six weeks of fighting between the IDF and the Shia Muslim armed group Hezbollah, although both sides have accused each other of violations.
Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in support of Iran two days after Israel and the US launched a war on Tehran on 28 February.
Israel began a military campaign in Lebanon on 2 March in which more than a million people have been displaced and more than 2,290 have been killed, including 177 children and 100 healthcare workers, Lebanese authorities say.
Israeli officials say that 13 Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed by Hezbollah attacks in the same period.
Separately, the Religious Freedom Data Center (RFDC) documented at least 201 incidents of violence against Christians, primarily committed by Orthodox Jews targeting international clergy or individuals displaying Christian symbols, between January 2024 and September 2025.
The majority of these incidents, which included multiple forms of harassment, including spitting, verbal abuse, vandalism and assaults, took place in Jerusalem’s Old City, located in occupied East Jerusalem. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
Virginia voters approve Democrats’ redistricting plan
24-04-2026
RICHMOND: Virginia voters have approved a redistricting measure that could hand Democrats control of the thinly-divided US House of Representatives, US media report.
The state is the latest front in a national battle to redraw congressional districts after President Donald Trump and Republicans initiated a national gerrymandering push aiming to help conservatives maintain a congressional majority.
Democrats in California last year approved a similar measure to change the state’s voting districts, with the goal of cancelling gains made by Republicans in redrawn maps in Texas.
Virginia’s passed amendment will redraw the state’s congressional map to flip as many as four House seats held by Republicans.
Democrats in the state currently hold six out of the state’s 11 seats and the updated map could allow them to hold up to 10.
The redistricting referendum is the most expensive ballot measure in Virginia’s history by far, according to figures from the Virginia Public Access Project. Over $80m (£59m) was raised as of earlier this month by groups on both sides of the effort. In his first public comments on Virginia’s measure, Trump said on Monday that if House Democrats win a majority in the midterm elections, “it’s going to be a disaster”.
“I don’t know if you know what gerrymandering is, but it’s not good,” he added.
States usually redraw their voting maps once every decade after new population data is released as part of the US Census.
Texas became the first state to launch a mid-decade change amid pressure from Trump, setting off a race for other states to alter their maps to help their respective political parties.
Texas’ new map will give Republicans an advantage in five additional seats.
In response to Trump’s support of Texas’ changes, California Gov Gavin Newsom launched a campaign last year to suspend the Golden State’s independently drawn maps in order to “fight fire with fire”.
California voters approved their new maps in a special referendum in November, giving Democrats an edge in five new districts.
In the US, gerrymandering, the redrawing of electoral boundaries to favor a political party is only illegal if it is based on race.
The Republican Party is working to hold on to its thin majority in the House in November’s midterm elections. Historically, the party of the current president loses House seats during this congressional vote.
In 2023, a referendum aimed at establishing a casino in Richmond became the most expensive in state history. With over $10 million in fundraising, supporters and opponents of that ballot measure raised four times more money than the next most-expensive referendum but this year’s redistricting referendum has blown that record out of the water, with over $80 million raised through April 10.
Earlier, The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for California to use a new voting map that favors Democrats, paving the way for the party to gain up to five congressional seats this year.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said: “Donald Trump said he was ‘entitled’ to five more Congressional seats in Texas. He started this redistricting war. He lost, and he’ll lose again in November.”
California Republicans and the Trump administration had made an emergency request for the Supreme Court to block the map as they mounted a legal challenge in a lower court. A lower federal court in California last month rejected a similar request. (Int’l News Desk)
