Netanyahu vows that Israel will keep ‘degrading Hezbollah’ until objectives met

UNITED NATIONS — Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu signaled to the world from the United Nations on Friday that the multiple conflicts in the Middle East were far from resolved, and he vowed to continue battling Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists and defeat Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip until “total victory.”

Shortly after the prime minister spoke, blasts rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut and the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah’s headquarters. The exact target wasn’t immediately clear, but it appeared to be significant enough to prompt Netanyahu to cut short his trip to New York by a day and make unusual travel on the Jewish Sabbath to get home.

“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Netanyahu said, eliciting applause from supporters in the gallery of the General Assembly. “We’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” he said.

Netanyahu spoke as international mediation efforts were underway to try to rein in the escalating conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been striking Hezbollah targets intensively for the past week.

Late Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations. Israel said Thursday that discussions were ongoing and Hezbollah hasn’t officially responded to the cease-fire proposal, but has said it won’t stop firing until the Gaza war ends.

Hezbollah began striking Israel a day after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack, in which 1,200 were killed and about 250 were taken hostage. The sides have exchanged fire since then on an almost daily basis, volleys that intensified sharply after a wave of exploding communication devices targeted Hezbollah operatives — an attack widely blamed on Israel. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from within his own government and from Israelis displaced by the fighting to deal Hezbollah a heavy blow. Recent strikes have targeted the group’s senior leadership.

“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.”

Netanyahu pointed a finger at Iran for being a destabilizing force in the region, noting its support for both Hamas and Hezbollah. He warned Tehran that “if you strike us, we will strike you.” As he spoke, the seats in the Iran delegation sat empty. Outside, protesters against Netanyahu and Israel’s policies demonstrated behind police barricades.

Armed with visual aids as he has been in the past, the prime minister defended his nation’s response to the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel that triggered the war. He said Israel had destroyed much of Hamas’ rocket arsenal, killed or captured half of its fighting force and dismantled many of its underground tunnels. He said Israel was “focused on mopping up Hamas’ remaining fighting capabilities.”

But the war in Gaza will soon stretch into its second year with still no end in sight. Multiple attempts at bringing about a cease-fire have stalled over Hamas’ demand that Israel withdraw all troops and end the war, and over Israel’s insistence on maintaining a presence in some areas.

Roughly 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Israel has maintained its military operations are justified and are necessary to defend itself.

“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. “

In an address steeped in talk of conflict, Netanyahu also made a lengthy appeal for Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia, echoing the content of his speech last year, when efforts toward that goal were underway. But the U.S.-backed normalization talks were derailed by the Hamas-led terrorist attack, which refocused a spotlight on Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians, casting doubt on Netanyahu’s argument that ties with Saudi Arabia are not contingent on Palestinian statehood.