Netanyahu strong message to the Lebanese: Once your country was the pearl of the Middle East, stand up against Hezbollah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed a message to the Lebanese, calling on them to rise up against the tyranny of Hezbollah.

Netanyahu, during his speech, also confirmed the killing of the new leader of Hezbollah, after the killing of Nasrallah, as well as another senior Hamas militant.

He said Lebanon was once known as the "pearl of the Middle East", a developed country with religious harmony that turned into a battlefield of chaos after Hezbollah took power.

He said the occupier of Lebanon is not Israel, which withdrew its military forces 25 years ago, but Iran, which installed and financed Hezbollah. Netanyahu said that Lebanon can have prosperity and live in peace with Israel if it stands up against Hezbollah.

Netanyahu's message:

This is a message to the people of Lebanon. Do you remember when your country was called the Pearl of the Middle East? I do. So what happened to Lebanon? A bunch of tyrants and terrorists destroyed it.

That's how it happened. Lebanon was once known for its tolerance, for its beauty. Today, it is a country of chaos, a country of war. Israel withdrew from Lebanon 25 years ago, but the country that actually occupied Lebanon is not Israel. It is Iran.

Iran which funds and arms Hezbollah to serve Iran's interests at the expense of Lebanon. Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into an ammunition and weapons depot and an Iranian military base. Just one day after the October 7 massacre of a year ago, Hezbollah joined the war against Israel. An unprovoked attack began on our cities and on our citizens. Since then, it has fired over 8,000 rockets into Israel, killing civilians indiscriminately, Jews, Christians, Muslims.

Israel has decided to put an end to this. We are determined to do whatever is necessary to return our people safely to their homes. Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel also has the right to win and Israel will win. We have degraded Hezbollah's capabilities.

We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's deputy and his deputy's replacement

Free your country from Hezbollah so that future generations of Lebanese and Israeli children will no longer know war and bloodshed, but finally live together in peace.