Netanyahu Warns: "Israel Will Not Ignore Any Further Fire From Iran"

(Photo: Roi Avraham/ GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this evening (Monday) that Israel will not ignore any further fire from Iran. Netanyahu delivered a brief statement to the media and addressed the Israeli public.

At the start of his remarks, the prime minister said: "A year ago, we launched a historic preemptive strike against Iran's intention to destroy us with atomic bombs — we foiled that immediate threat and eliminated the tyrant Khamenei. If we had not acted with force — we would not be here. I again pledge: Iran will not have nuclear weapons."

"With that same determination, we also acted against Hezbollah. Hezbollah planned to invade the Galilee with thousands of terrorists, and at the same time it planned to devastate Israel's cities with 150,000 missiles and rockets. We foiled that threat as well — and eliminated Nasrallah. And I want to tell you — our heroic fighters are crushing Hezbollah. We are continuing to destroy all of their terror infrastructure in the security zone, including in enormous underground facilities in the Beaufort ridge. So large that I have never seen anything like them."

"Iran and Hezbollah are weaker than ever, and we are stronger than ever — but our struggle with them is still not over. In the past 24 hours, Iran and Hezbollah tried to impose a new equation on us. And that equation is intolerable and unacceptable to me. They thought they could fire at Israel from Lebanese territory and from Iran — and that we would not act. That did not happen, and it will not happen. Not on my watch!"

Netanyahu continued: "As I have done for decades, I firmly stand by our right to act against our enemies. That is how we acted now as well. After Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory, I instructed the IDF to strike terror targets in Beirut and to eliminate Hezbollah operatives there. We did that. After Iran attacked Israel, I instructed the IDF to strike military and economic targets across Iran. We did that too."

"At the moment, the fire has stopped, because after we struck the terror regime in Tehran, it stopped attacking us. If the terror regime in Iran makes the mistake of attacking us again — we will respond with force. Israel has every right to self-defense, and we are exercising that right as much as necessary. I say this to you, just as I say it with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump. With unity, determination, and wisdom we will defend the State of Israel. Together, with Hashem's help, we will restore security to the north.".