 "'No place in Iran that long arm of Israel cannot reach': Netanyahu's stern warning to Tehran at UNGA")
Blaming Iran for many of the problems in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday issued a warning to the cleric-run state, saying that there is no place in the enemy country that Israel cannot reach.
Addressing the 79th UN General Assembly, Netanyahu said, “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. 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,” he added.
He emphasised Israel’s capabilities and declared with a confident assertion, “We are winning”, showing a map he termed “the curse” of Iran’s influence and another which he described as a blessing.
Netanyahu also called for an end to the “appeasement” of Iran.
“Everything must be done to ensure Iran doesn’t get nuclear weapons,” the Israeli leader added.
As the Israeli PM started the address, delegates, including from Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, exited the room amid a mix of cheers and angry yells.
Netanyahu, armed with visual aids as he has been in the past, defended his nation’s response to the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said that he didn’t intend to come to the UNGA this year, but after he heard the “lies and slander” levelled at Israel he decided to come and “set the record straight.”
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“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 added.
He insisted that Israel wanted peace but said of Iran, “If you strike us, we will strike you.” He once again blamed Iran for being behind many of the problems in the region.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry.
The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but more than half the dead have been women and children, including about 1,300 children under the age of 2.
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.
With inputs from agencies
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