Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that a soldier will face punishment after desecrating a crucifix in a village in southern Lebanon, saying the act runs contrary to Jewish values of tolerance.

"I was ⁠stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon. I condemn the act in the strongest terms," he wrote on X.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who described the...