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Netanyahu tells UN Israel will keep 91Ƶdegrading Hezbollah91Ƶ until objectives met

Comments dim hopes for a ceasefire to halt spiral into an all-out regional war
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Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

His leadership strained by conflicts on two fronts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that his nation will 91Ƶcontinue degrading Hezbollah91Ƶ until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border, further dimming hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire to halt the spiral into an all-out regional war.

He said his government would no longer tolerate daily rocket fire from the area.

91ƵIsrael has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that91Ƶs exactly what we91Ƶre doing 91Ƶ we91Ƶll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,91Ƶ Netanyahu said.

91ƵJust imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns 91Ƶ How long would the American government tolerate that?91Ƶ he said, shaking his fist in emphasis. 91ƵYet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I91Ƶve come here today to say: Enough is enough.91Ƶ

Netanyahu, armed with visual aids as he has been in the past, defended his nation91Ƶs response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip. He said he traveled to the United Nations to refute the untruths he had heard from other leaders on the same rostrum earlier in the week.

91ƵI didn91Ƶt intend to come here this year. My country is at war fighting for its life,91Ƶ Netanyahu said. 91ƵBut 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.91Ƶ

He insisted that Israel wanted peace but said of Iran: 91ƵIf you strike us, we will strike you.91Ƶ He once again blamed Iran for being behind many of the problems in the region.

91ƵFor too long, the world has appeased Iran,91Ƶ Netanyahu said. 91ƵThat appeasement must end.91Ƶ

Israel91Ƶs 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 Gaza91Ƶs Hamas government, doesn91Ƶt differentiate between civilians and combatants, but more than half the dead have been , including about 1,300 children under the age of 2.

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

91ƵThis 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,91Ƶ Netanyahu said. 91ƵBut if they don91Ƶt 91Ƶ if they don91Ƶt 91Ƶ we will fight until we achieve total victory. Total victory. There is no substitute for it. 91Ƶ

He said Israeli forces have destroyed 91Ƶ90%91Ƶ of Hamas91Ƶ rockets and killed or captured half of its forces.

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.

Late Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly to allow for negotiations as fears grow that the violent escalation in recent days 91Ƶ following 11 months of cross-border exchange of fire 91Ƶ could grow into an all-out war.

The United Nations says over 90,000 people have been displaced by five days of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, bringing the total to 200,000 people who have been displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas after it stormed into Israel, sparking the .

As Netanyahu took the stage, there was enough ruckus in the audience that the presiding diplomat had to shout, 91ƵOrder, please.91Ƶ

The two speakers who preceded Netanyahu on Friday each made a point of calling out Israel for its actions. 91ƵMr. Netanyahu, stop this war now,91Ƶ Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said as he closed his remarks, pounding the podium. And Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking just before the Israeli leader, declared of Gaza: 91ƵThis is not just a conflict. This is systematic slaughter of innocent people of Palestine.91Ƶ He thumped the rostrum to audible applause.

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See more of AP91Ƶs coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at

Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press





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