Netanyahu, Sa’ar honor Israeli diplomats after two years of war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Israel’s ambassadors and mission chiefs from around the world in Jerusalem Sunday evening, praising their work during two years of heightened diplomatic challenges.

Sa’ar thanked the diplomatic corps for standing “on the front lines of an exceptionally challenging diplomatic arena” since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

“Based on the remarkable resilience Israel has shown during this period, I am confident we will meet any challenge that lies ahead,” Sa’ar said in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.

The gathering marked the largest delegation of Israeli diplomatic representatives to visit the country, according to Israeli officials.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also addressed the delegation. Huckabee, who took office in January, has been a longtime supporter of Israel and has organized trips bringing thousands of American visitors to the country.

Huckabee on Dec. 4 urged more than a thousand visiting American pastors and Christian leaders to “light the pulpits of America” with the truth about Israel, and to quash criticism of the Jewish state from both the left and the right with the facts and the Bible.

The weeklong visit, which was organized by American evangelical leader Mike Evans with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, was the single largest gathering of pastors in Israel since the establishment of the state in 1948. It included a tour of the southern communities that came under attack during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre as well as meetings with survivors and former hostages.