Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a fiery address at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday defended his attack on terrorist group Hamas, saying it “has got to go”. Speaking at the UN’s New York Headquarters, Netanyahu said that if Hamas “stays in power”, it would continue to attack Israel over and over again. Adding that Israel would not stop until “total victory” is achieved, Netanyahu said, “If Hamas stays in power, it will regroup… and attack Israel again and again and again… So Hamas has got to go.”
"This war can come to an end now. All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages," Netanyahu said. "But if they don't – if they don't – we will fight until we achieve total victory. Total victory. There is no substitute for it."
Netanyahu also said that Israel would play no part in reconstructing Gaza, adding that his country is fighting for survival against "savage enemies" who want to wipe out the Jewish nation.
"We must defend ourselves against these savage murderers. Our enemies seek not only to destroy us, they seek to destroy our common civilisation and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror," he said, adding further that Israel is at war and would not back down.
'Will Continue Degrading Hezbollah'
His leadership strained by conflicts on two fronts, Netanyahu told world leaders at the UN that his nation will "continue degrading Hezbollah" until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border. He said his government would no longer tolerate daily rocket fire from the area.
"Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that's exactly what we're doing … we'll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met," Netanyahu said.
"Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns … How long would the American government tolerate that?" he said, shaking his fist in emphasis. "Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I've come here today to say: Enough is enough."
Moments after his speech, explosions were heard in Beirut.
'Appeasement Of Iran Must End'
"I didn't intend to come here this year. My country is at war fighting for its life," Netanyahu said. "But after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight."
He insisted that Israel wanted peace but said of Iran: "If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East."
"For too long, the world has appeased Iran," Netanyahu said. "That appeasement must end."
Multi-Front Assault On Israel
In recent days, Israel has turned its attention to the border with Lebanon, where it is targeting Hezbollah militants and has inflicted civilian casualties as well. Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the Hamas invasion, and ongoing fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group have driven tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the border. Israel is vowing to step up its attacks on Hezbollah until its citizens can return safely to their homes.
Meanwhile on Thursday night, Israel's Arrow air defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile launched from Yemen, setting off alarms across central Israel. The IDF said that the missile was intercepted "outside the country's borders" with the long-range system. The Israeli military said that the alerts were activated over concerns about the falling shrapnel.
Late Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an "immediate" 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations as fears grow that the violent escalation in recent days — following 11 months of cross-border exchange of fire — could grow into an all-out war.
(With inputs from agencies)