Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose leadership has been plagued by bipartisan conflict, entered the UN General Assembly on Friday and said he had decided to attend the New York meeting to challenge what he described as “lies and slander” he had heard. to other leaders this week on the same platform.
Netanyahu, armed with visual aids, forcefully defended his nation’s response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered a military campaign that devastated the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said Israeli forces destroyed “90 percent” of Hamas rockets and killed or captured half of its fighters.
“We’re winning!” he said of Israel’s response.
He added that any role in the post-war Gaza of Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by several Western countries, must be eliminated.
Netanyahu said the operation in Gaza is directed by the “sacred mission” of returning all the hostages who were taken from Gaza almost one year ago. The prime minister said that 154 hostages were returned to Israel, although 37 of that number are still alive.
“We will not rest until the remaining hostages return,” he said.
The attack, led by Hamas, also killed around 1,200 people, according to the Israeli government, including citizens of many countries, including Canada.
A warning to Iran
Israel’s operation in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and injured more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released on Thursday by the Ministry of Health. The ministry, which is part of Gaza’s government, Hamas, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but more than half of the dead were women and children, including about 1,300 children under the age of two.
Netanyahu also said that Israel is not deliberately targeting the population of Gaza, although South Africa has brought a case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of carrying out the killing of Palestinians there.
Referring to the April volley of drones and missiles aimed at Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that no part of Iran will be safe from Israel’s response to future attacks.
Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, accused Israel in the same forum on Thursday of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. Abbas also said his government should manage Gaza after the war as part of an independent Palestinian state, an idea the Israeli government rejects.
Abbas has had little influence in Gaza since Hamas overthrew his forces and seized power in the area in 2007.
Netanyahu emphasized that Israel wants peace, pointing to the positive steps taken in relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia in recent years.
He largely spared Iran, a country he also accused of being the cause of many problems in the region, as it supports Hamas and Hezbollah. The UN has long “appeased Iran,” he said.
He warned of a strong response if Iran repeated its unprecedented grain attack on Israel in April.
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that is true of the entire Middle East,” he said.
While he was speaking, the seats of the Iranian delegation were sitting empty. Outside, protesters against Netanyahu and Israel’s policies demonstrated behind police barriers.
Addresses the campaign against Hezbollah
In recent days, Israel has moved to the border of Lebanon, where it has targeted Hezbollah terrorists and killed civilians. Hezbollah began attacking Israel shortly after October 7, and ongoing fighting between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the border.
Netanyahu called the estimated 60,000 refugees “refugees in their homeland.” Israel vows to increase its attacks on Hezbollah until its citizens can safely return to their homes.
CBC News reporter Margaret Evans says Beirut’s streets are quieter than any city of its size. Many people are trying to escape the Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, moving further north of the country, into Syria or overseas.
He repeated his assertion more than once this week that the opposition to Israel does not lie with the Lebanese people.
“Don’t let Hezbollah drag Lebanon into the abyss,” he said.
Last Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an immediate “21-day” pause in front of Lebanon to allow negotiations as fears grow that the escalation of violence in recent days could escalate into an endless war.
The United Nations says more than 90,000 people have been displaced by Israel’s five-day offensive in Lebanon, bringing the total to 200,000 displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas.
Abdallah Bouhabib, Lebanon’s foreign minister, condemned Israel’s “destroying of Lebanese border towns” in a speech on Thursday in the same area.
“The crisis in Lebanon threatens the entire Middle East,” Bouhabib said. “We wish today to emphasize our call for a cessation of hostilities on all sides.”
Shortly after Netanyahu finished his speech, the Israeli military said it carried out a “direct strike” on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari made the announcement in a televised address after an explosion in Beirut sent huge clouds of orange and black smoke into the sky on Friday afternoon.
Disruption before speech
When Netanyahu took the stage, there was enough commotion in the audience that the presiding speaker had to shout, “Order, please.”
Netanyahu’s two previous speeches each Friday made a point of calling Israel out for its actions.
“Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now,” said Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob as he closed his remarks, striking the stage.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking shortly before the Israeli leader, announced about Gaza: “This is not just a conflict. This is the killing of innocent Palestinians.” He hit the rostrum and there was a thunderous applause.