Overview
- Netanyahu met a group of Christian soldiers at his office, praised their service across the Israel Defense Forces, and released a video of the gathering.
- The meeting followed a widely shared image of an Israeli soldier smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon, which the army condemned and moved into a criminal investigation.
- Military authorities said personnel tied to the statue incident were disciplined, and commanders stated that probes into the conduct seen in the footage remain in place.
- Separate videos showed IDF engineering equipment destroying solar panels in the Christian village of Debel, which open-source analysts said sit near Hezbollah-linked outposts, and the military said it would investigate.
- International Christian Embassy Jerusalem president Jürgen Bühler said the Prime Minister’s Office invited his group to bring 17 evangelical soldiers, reflecting a push to reassure Christian communities as scrutiny intensifies.