“‘If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first,’” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night in reference to the targeted killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, invoking the Talmudic adage.
“Yesterday, the State of Israel eliminated the arch-murderer Hassan Nasrallah. We have settled accounts with someone who was responsible for the murders of countless Israelis and many nationals of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French,” said the premier.
Nasrallah was killed on Friday evening in an Israel Defense Forces strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.
“Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist,” said Netanyahu. “He was the axis of the axes, the main engine of Iran’s axis of evil. He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel,” he added.
The terror leader’s elimination was “a necessary condition in achieving the objectives we have set: Returning the residents of the north safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years,” said Netanyahu. “As long as Nasrallah was alive, he would have quickly rebuilt the capabilities we took from Hezbollah. Therefore, I gave the directive—and Nasrallah is no longer with us,” he continued.
The prime minister then pivoted to Yahya Sinwar, suggesting that the more the Hamas leader “sees that Nasrallah will not be coming to his rescue, the greater are the chances for returning our hostages.”
Netanyahu stressed that despite Israel’s “great achievements ... the work has still not been completed. In the coming days, we will face significant challenges, and we will face them together.”
Nasrallah, he said, often referred to Israel as being as weak as “spider webs.”
“But instead of spider webs, he found the tendons of steel of a united and mighty nation that is determined to ensure its existence and its future. Not only has Hezbollah discovered this. The entire Middle East has discovered this,” he said.
“All those who oppose the axis of evil, all those who are fighting under the violent dictatorship of Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iran itself and other places, they are all filled with hope today. I say to the citizens of those countries: Israel stands with you,” he continued.
“And to the ayatollahs’ regime I say: Those who strike us, we strike them. There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of Israel cannot reach.”
Following Nasrallah’s death, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was transferred on Saturday to a more secure location, Reuters reported, citing two regional officials. Beforehand, Khamenei had called on Muslims to “stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the ... wicked regime [of Israel].”
Brig. Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was also killed in Friday’s strike on Nasrallah, according to Lebanese media. Nilforoushan reportedly commanded Tehran’s Quds Force in Lebanon and oversaw the IRGC’s Operations Command.
Netanyahu on Saturday night described the current period as “momentous days” which in the future would be viewed as a “historic turning point.”
“One year ago, on Oct. 7, our enemies attacked us and thought that Israel was on the road to being wiped out. One year later, blow after blow, achievement after achievement, they understand how their hopes have dissipated,” said Netanyahu.
“Israel has momentum; we are winning.”
