Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar commented on video footage showing a soldier destroying a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon, saying: “An attack on a Christian religious symbol by a soldier in the Israeli army is a dangerous and shameful matter. He added: "I commend the Israeli army for announcing and condemning the incident, and for the ongoing investigation into the matter, and I am certain that the necessary strict measures will be taken against whoever committed this heinous act." He continued: "This shameful act completely contradicts our values. We apologize for this incident to every Christian whose feelings were hurt." Last night, the Israeli army acknowledged that the soldier who appeared in a photo hitting the head of a statue of Christ with a hammer in southern Lebanon was one of its members. The Israeli army said in a statement published on the X platform: “After completing the preliminary examination into the issue of the circulating photo of a soldier touching a Christian symbol in southern Lebanon, it became clear that the talk is about real documentation of an Israeli army soldier who worked in the southern Lebanese region.” The picture shows a soldier using a sledgehammer to hit the head of a statue of Christ. It was widely circulated and condemned on social media. The Israeli army said that it would take "measures against those involved according to the results of the investigation."