Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the Iranian regime of endangering the world, following a wave of missile attacks he said targeted civilians and holy sites in Israel.
Speaking at the site of a missile strike in the southern city of Arad, the premier said: “In the last 48 hours, Iran targeted a civilian area. They’re doing that as a mass murder weapon. Luckily, no one was killed, but that’s due to luck, not their intention. Their intention is to murder civilians.”
Later, at the impact site in Dimona, Netanyahu repeated the warning, saying that while buildings can be rebuilt, lives cannot, and urging Israelis to follow Home Front Command orders.
“I’m here in Dimona with Mayor Benny Biton, and I see exactly what I saw in Arad and since the beginning of the war. Whoever hears a warning or a siren and enters a protected space, or a safe room, or a shelter—nothing happens to them,” Netanyahu said. “There was one exceptional case where a missile hit directly on an old bomb shelter; two people were killed, but everyone else was saved. Since then, anyone who’s been in a safe room or protected space—nothing happens to them.”
More than 115 people were wounded Saturday night in Iranian missile strikes on Arad and Dimona.
Netanyahu said in Arad that the Iranian regime had fired on Jerusalem, hitting sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
“That’s 4,000 kilometers. I’ve been warning all the time. They now have the capacity to reach deep into Europe. They already have fired on European countries—Cyprus. They are putting everyone in their sights,” Netanyahu said, adding that the regime is “stopping a maritime international route, an energy route, and trying to blackmail the entire world,” referring to the Strait of Hormuz.
“This regime threatens the entire world and must be stopped,” he continued, adding that Israel and the United States are coordinating efforts against Tehran and calling on other nations to join them.
Netanyahu said Israel’s military response is aimed at Iran’s leadership, Revolutionary Guards and strategic assets, not civilians. He vowed to “completely break” Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and create conditions for the Iranian people to “overthrow this tyranny.”
