Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu of the United Nations says he has come to refute lies he heard there this week from other leaders

NEW YORK — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that his leadership is strained by two-front conflicts, that his nation “will continue to degrade Hezbollah” until it achieves its goals along the border with Lebanon, making weakens hopes for an internationally supported ceasefire. -fire to stop the spiral towards total regional war. He said his government would no longer tolerate daily rocket fire from the area.

“Israel has every right to remove this threat and bring our citizens home safely. And that is exactly what we are doing… we will continue to degrade Hezbollah until all our goals are achieved,” Netanyahu said.

“Imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns… How long would the American government tolerate this?” – he said, shaking his fist emphatically. “Yet Israel tolerated this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I came here today to say enough is enough.

Netanyahu, armed with visual aids as he has in the past, defended his nation’s response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which marked the beginning of the Israeli military operation that devastated the Gaza Strip. He said he went to the United Nations to push back against untruths he heard from other leaders at the same podium earlier in the week.

“I had no intention of coming here this year. My country is at war, fighting for its life,” Netanyahu said. “But when I heard the lies and slander directed at my country by many speakers on this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight.”

He insisted that Israel wanted peace, but said of Iran: “If you hit us, we will hit you.” He once again accused Iran of being behind many of the problems in the region.

“For too long, the world has reassured Iran,” Netanyahu said. “This appeasement must end.”

According to the latest figures released Thursday by the Ministry of Health, more than 41,500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 96,000 injured in Israel’s campaign in Gaza. The ministry, part of the Hamas government in Gaza, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but more than half of the victims were women and children, including about 1,300 children under the age of 2.

Israel maintains that its military operations are legitimate and necessary for defense.

“This war can end now. The only thing that needs to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its weapons and release all hostages,” Netanyahu said. “But if they don’t – if they don’t – we will fight until we achieve total victory. Total victory. Nothing can replace it.

He said Israeli forces destroyed “90%” of Hamas rockets and killed or captured half of his forces.

In recent days, Israel has turned its attention to the border with Lebanon, where it has been attacking Hezbollah fighters, also causing civilian casualties. Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the Hamas invasion, and ongoing fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the border. Israel vows to step up attacks on Hezbollah until its citizens can safely return to their homes.

Late Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day ceasefire to allow negotiations as fears grow that the brutal escalation in recent days – after 11 months of cross-border firefights – could escalate into all-out war .

The United Nations says five days of Israeli attacks on Lebanon have displaced more than 90,000 people, bringing the total to 200,000 people displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas after it invaded Israel, sparking the Israel-Hamas war.

When Netanyahu took the stage, there was such confusion in the audience that the presiding diplomat had to shout, “Please order.”

Both speakers who preceded Netanyahu on Friday wanted to call out Israel for its actions. “Mr. Netanyahu, please stop this war immediately,” Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said at the end of his speeches, hitting the podium. And Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking just before the Israeli leader, declared about the Gaza Strip: “It’s not just a conflict. “This is the systematic slaughter of innocent people in Palestine.” He hit the podium, drawing audible applause.