Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference this evening and made the following remarks: "Dear citizens of Israel, yesterday before the start of the Sabbath, we achieved a historic accomplishment for the State of Israel. Following direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by the US, we have reached a framework of understandings that allows us to move forward toward ending the conflict, and, G-d willing, eventually reaching a peace agreement between the two countries. Under these understandings, the US and Lebanon have recognized Israel's right to maintain the security zone inside Lebanon for as long as it is required for our security. We will continue to hold it until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organizations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon. I want you to know – this is a massive blow to Iran and Hezbollah. Iran tried to force a withdrawal from southern Lebanon upon us. You heard these demands all the time, and you also heard their disappointment and their criticism of the agreement – both theirs and Hezbollah's. I stood firm on our vital interests and forcefully opposed the notion of forcing a withdrawal upon us. Lebanon, Israel, and the US are essentially saying to Iran: This is none of your business. You have no status here. You have no involvement and no role, not you, not Hezbollah, and not any terrorist organization. Israel and Lebanon have agreed on two adjacent areas near the Yellow Line, recommended by the IDF, where there will be a pilot program for disarming Hezbollah and transferring the territory to the control of the Lebanese army. This is a tremendous achievement, because what were they trying to do? They tried to get us out of there through all kinds of means and pressures. That, of course, will not happen. I thank President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio for their involvement, their contribution, and for achieving these understandings. I thank the government of Lebanon and the people of Lebanon; they showed great courage. I thank Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, and our team, they faithfully represented Israel in the talks. We are breaking the Iranian axis of terror, but we are also breaking the Iranian diplomatic axis. We managed to reach this framework of understandings for a simple reason: Because we struck Hezbollah hard. And Hezbollah, which expected assistance from Iran, did not receive it, because we struck Iran hard. All of this was done thanks to the heroism of our fighters, and also thanks to the wise and courageous decisions we made. I want to remind you of what the situation was in Lebanon: Hezbollah had 150,000 missiles and rockets, and we eliminated about 90 percent of this vast arsenal. We astonished them with the pagers, we eliminated Nasrallah, and we eliminated the commanders of the Radwan Force. In the last two weeks alone, we eliminated over 200 terrorists, and since the beginning of the war, over 9,000 Hezbollah terrorists! We took control of the Beaufort and we are staying in the Beaufort; we took control of the Ali Taher ridge, and of Bint Jbeil – they are under our control. We are eliminating their terrorist infrastructure throughout the entire area, in the entire Yellow Zone; we are simply wiping out the terrorist infrastructure. There are bunkers there, there are tunnels there, there are terrorist villages there; we are wiping the, all out. We are not done yet, we still have work to do, especially regarding the global problem of explosive drones, and in this too, we will be the first in the world to find a solution. But what is clear is one thing: There is a historic achievement here. This agreement strengthens Israel and Lebanon, and weakens Iran and Hezbollah. And G-d willing, this is a sign of things to come. We will continue to do everything necessary to restore security to the residents of the North, just as we successfully did in the South. We did it once again thanks to the heroism of the fighters and commanders, and also thanks to your steadfast resilience, residents of the North. We are bringing you not only security assistance, but also over 20 billion shekels to restore prosperity to the North. This is what I want to see: A quiet border between us and Lebanon, a border of peace. And in the North, I want to see security, peace, and prosperity. What happened in the South, which is currently prospering in the western Negev, will also happen in the North. This is my goal, and with your help and G-d's help, we will achieve it."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, at the IDF Combat Officers' Graduation Ceremony at Training Base #1: "My many friends, I believe in the winning combination of both quality and quantity. As I just walked among you, the new male and female officers, I saw the quality up close, in your eyes. We shook hands. Here and there, I managed to hear a bit about your backgrounds. But I clearly noticed the sense of destiny and the strength of spirit embedded in you. This is the wondrous spirit of the People of Israel, whose roots are planted in the soil of the homeland, and which it defends with ultimate devotion. And now, from this stage, I also clearly see the quantity. Rows upon rows of hundreds of young men and women commanders on the parade ground of the base. You proudly represent our nation, our country. Congratulations to all of you! Minister of Defense, Israel Katz; Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir; Commander of the Ground Forces, Major-General Nadav Lotan; The principal officers of the Ground Forces; Commander of the Officer Training School, Colonel Eliav Elbaz; the base command and instructional staff; thank you very much for the wonderful work you have done. Together with all of you, I embrace our loved ones, the members of the bereaved families. Thanks to the heroes who fell in battle, we have life, we have independence, we have revival. We will remember the fallen forever. We will preserve and tell their story from generation to generation! And we all embrace those wounded in body and soul. I visit them from time to time in hospitals and rehabilitation institutions. Their mental fortitude is unbelievable. These heroic wounded are in our hearts and thoughts throughout their journey of rehabilitation. Dear families, the long road to becoming an officer begins at home with you. These officers absorbed from you values of love for the land, investment, perseverance, and contribution to the whole. Thank you, families, for supporting the new commanders of the Israel Defense Forces! You, too, stand on this parade ground, and we salute you as well! And now to you, the graduates of the course, male and female officers: You are climbing the ladder and joining the command backbone of the IDF. You are fulfilling the dream of generations, of a Hebrew army that is a fortress and a shield for our people. The poet Bialik wrote: ‘Gird yourselves with strength! A great army to the aid of the people. A great army to the aid of the people!’ You are girding yourselves with strength, and your strength guarantees the future of the nation. We are proud of you. I am proud of you, and I rely on you! This is not my first time here. I, too, was a cadet on this parade ground. But I have come here many times over the years. And there were years when I heard the discourse outside the parade ground. I heard veteran officers turning to new officers and asking them: 'Has anyone here ever been in an engagement under fire?'; 'Has anyone here ever participated in hand-to-hand combat?'. But in recent years, these questions are hardly asked. You arrived at this base equipped with the operational experience you acquired in the War of Redemption. Sometimes it is the painful experience of losing a brother-in-arms. Before I arrived here, I was a fighter. In the first weeks of my service in my unit, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, I lost a dear friend who drew his last breath and died in my arms. You lost friends and kept moving forward because you understood who we are fighting against, what we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for. We are in the midst of a prolonged multi-arena war. Its importance is no less than the importance of the War of Independence. The October 7 attack was the opening shot in the malicious plan of the enemies of Israel to destroy Israel. They wanted to suffocate us in a ring of fire and terror. They thought that the brutal massacre they carried out against us would cause us to collapse. But we turned the tables. He who pursued us is now being pursued. If I had told you on the second day of the war, if I had told you that we would stand here, in less than three years, and that we would change the face of the Middle East; that we would eliminate Sinwar, Haniyeh, Deif, and Nasrallah, along with the entire top command of Hezbollah, the armaments of Assad's army, and many from the terrorist regime in Iran; that we would destroy their missiles and missile launchers; that our pilots would fly in the skies of Tehran and be able to hit any target of the terrorist regime, would anyone have believed it? It would have sounded like a fairy tale. On the second day of the war, I said: We will change the face of the Middle East. And thanks to your heroism, of our fighters, our commanders, our pilots, our soldiers, and our nation that stood firm, we are changing the face of the Middle East, and the State of Israel is stronger than ever. And if I had told you on the second day of the war that we would return all of our hostages, down to the very last one. We will not leave a single name there. Who would have believed it? My colleagues and I believed. You gave us the strength, and we did it. We brought them all home, down to the very last one. And if I had told you on October 8 that we were going to make a massive shift within ourselves, that we would break the barrier of fear, that we would initiate, attack, use stratagems, surprise, and decisively win, who would have believed we would do all this? I believed, because I believe in you. And the People of Israel believe in you. But our greatest achievement, and only a blind person would say 'There are no achievements', there are monumental achievements. I haven't listed them all, and I spare you as you stand under the blazing sun; it would take a long time to list them all. But there is one monumental achievement. It came during the two incredible operations, Rising Lion and Roaring Lion. We removed an immediate existential threat from over our heads because if we hadn't acted, Iran would have atomic bombs to destroy Israel today. We removed this threat to guarantee the eternity of Israel. There are more missions to complete. There are more things to do against Iran. There are more things to do against Hamas, though they don't have much capability left. You know that a few weeks ago, under my directive, alongside the Minister of Defense and the Chief-of-Staff, we eliminated one of the architects of the massacre, basically the commander of Hamas, Izz al-Din al-Haddad. And do you know what Hamas's reaction was? Zero. Nothing. Not a bullet, not a rocket, nothing at all. Because we have done a lot, but there is still more to do, against Hamas, against Hezbollah, and against drones. We are working on this with full force, with full vigor. But the achievements are monumental. These achievements were earned thanks to our heroic soldiers and commanders who charged at those who wish us harm, in the south, in the north, everywhere. No obstacle stood in their way: not terrorist tunnels, not nests of terrorists, and not old border lines around which Arab armies used to gather. I visit the field frequently. I met some of you there as fighters in the brigades that have gone in. I was deeply inspired by the spirit of victory that pushed you forward, with courage, determination, and endless resourcefulness. This unbroken spirit accompanied me on my way back to the meeting room of the Security Cabinet. And it helped me. It gave me a great deal of strength to stand against pressures, pressures from abroad and pressures from home, and it was not easy. It was not easy. The pressures from abroad included the halting of ammunition supplies during the war. And who knows better than you how important that is. I was forced to tell our American friends, they asked me: 'How will you fight?' and I told them: 'If we must, we will fight with our fingernails, but we will fight, repel our enemies, and strike them a double blow!' And so we did. And there were also internal pressures. There were pressures from within to stop. In Khan Yunis, not to enter Rafah, not to seize the Philadelphi Corridor, not to continue onward to Lebanon, Syria, and of course, not to Iran. Your strength, your heroism, your fighting spirit, gave me and my colleagues a lot of strength to stand against these pressures, and I want to thank you for that. In Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and other places, both openly and covert, they felt the heavy weight of our arm. We fundamentally changed the rules of the game in our region. And I repeat, first and foremost, we changed ourselves. We broke through the barrier of fear, with momentum, initiative, and aggressiveness. And our iron fist struck anyone who raised a hand against us. In this wilderness, one clear truth echoes. It is an ancient truth, and woe to whoever forgets it: ‘If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.’ Do not give them the opportunity to kill us. We live in a turbulent, stormy, barbaric Middle East. And this rule, which not everyone recognizes, I think most of the nation recognizes. It guarantees our future. It ensures that in the end, we will also achieve peace with some of our enemies, as we have done. The State of Israel is stronger than ever, more determined than ever, bolder than ever. We are squeezing the Gaza Strip from all sides. More than 60% of the Strip's territory is under our control. We restored security to the western Negev, which is blooming and flourishing once again. I remember saying we would do this. I think I said it at one of the course graduations here. And there were those who called it 'boastful words.' That's fine, people talk, we act. Because the combination of the military power with which we struck Hamas, the territory we seized around them, the Philadelphi Corridor that prevents them from rearming, and the massive civilian effort worth tens of billions of shekels to bring momentum and revival to the Tekuma region, this has resulted in the western Negev having the highest population growth rate in the State of Israel today. This is the image of victory. In Lebanon and Syria, we established buffer zones that prevent the danger of a ground invasion. We pushed those who seek our lives far back, many kilometers. Our forces overlook the summit of Mt. Hermon. I met some of you here, and you are going to be on the summit of Mt. Hermon. It is a spectacular view, but above all, it is a view that safeguards our security. We dominate southern Lebanon from the peak of Beaufort. And we will remain, as long as necessary, in the security zone in southern Lebanon. We are not going to withdraw from it. And I will tell you why: Because we moved from dominated areas to dominating areas, and we will maintain these dominating territories for as long as required. From there, we will protect the residents of the north and all citizens of Israel. The Minister of Defense and I clearly instructed the IDF: You have full freedom of action to thwart any threat to our fighters or to the residents of the north. We trust you, the Chief-of-Staff, our command team, the division commanders, the battalion commanders, the company commanders, each and every one of you. We trust you to act correctly, and we give you all the necessary backing! And regarding the regime of evil in Iran, I will only say this: with an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel, Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Under no circumstances will we allow Iran to develop nuclear bombs. Distinguished guests, as I have told you, I finished my officers' course right here at this base. I was a fighter. I was sent here, and I returned as a commander. I must tell you that what I learned here helped me not only as an officer and commander; it helps me to this day. You acquired very important knowledge here, and I am sure it will serve you on your life's journey. Not far from here, on the wall of the base headquarters wing, hangs the photograph of my brother Jonathan, Yoni, receiving his outstanding cadet pin from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory. I mention this specifically now because the day before yesterday marked 50 years since the daring operation to rescue our hostages from Entebbe. In Operation Jonathan, the incredible capabilities of Israel's warriors came to light, and in particular, the adherence to the mission by IDF officers who call out 'Follow me!' 'Follow me', to carry out the mission with uncompromising excellence. In the Entebbe operation as well, all hostages were brought home except for one, Dora Bloch, of blessed memory, who was in the city of Kampala and was murdered the next day by order of the dictator Idi Amin. The rescue operation in Entebbe granted Israel and the Israel Defense Forces eternal glory in the war on terrorism. Justice triumphed over evil. Hope defeated fear. And as it was then, so it is today: Israel is at the forefront of the struggle against barbaric fanaticism that threatens the free world. We are a small country indeed, but we possess a very great power. Power in combat, power in technology, power that helps forge alliances with countries in the region, and beyond it. Above all, we have, what I see here on this parade ground and in this grandstand, we have human power, and it is represented here, in this ceremony. Dear male and female officers, your new mission awaits you. The consciousness of 'leading from the front' will guide you. The personal example you set for your people will instill in them the willingness to act together with you, at any time and in any place. Last week, I met graduates of another officers' course. A reserve officers' course. Reservists in their 30s, 40s, and some in their 50s. And it shows the incredible spirit. They leave their families, their children, and for some, their grandchildren. And they come to be officers in the Israel Defense Forces. One of them asked me: 'Prime Minister, where do you see the State of Israel in 30 years?' And I told him: 'I do not pretend to be a prophet, but I think I know what determines things in our region, and increasingly in the whole world. The strong survive, there is no room for the weak, they are preyed upon and disappear. And in 30 years, I see the State of Israel even stronger than it is today, thanks to people like you, thanks to our spirit, thanks to all of our capabilities, and above all, our fighting spirit. And this is the great change we have brought about in the history of our people. Because until the establishment of the State of Israel, we were like a leaf driven by the wind. We were beaten in country after country. They slaughtered us, they exiled us. And when we returned to our land, we established a state, we established an army, and we restored the defensive capability of the People of Israel, our ability to defend ourselves, by ourselves. You are embodying this capability. You, the commanders, are guarding our independence, guaranteeing our future. You serve as a fortified wall for our country. Thank you, and success from the bottom of my heart!"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Together with all citizens of Israel, my wife and I received with deep sorrow the news about Master Sergeant (Res.) Basel Sweid, of blessed memory, during operational activity in southern Lebanon. Basel, of blessed memory, a resident of the town of Peki'in, was a brave reserve soldier, driven by a sense of mission, who symbolized the inseparable bond between the Druze community and the State of Israel, and the eternal covenant between us. We embrace his family in this difficult hour and send our heartfelt condolences. May his memory be a blessing.”

Excerpt from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarks, today, at the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel Conference: “It’s true, Hezbollah is still in Lebanon, but there is something else there now. Today, there is a security zone there that prevents Hezbollah and its remnants from invading the Galilee, because that was the plan. We are destroying all of this underground infrastructure. I was there in southern Lebanon and I saw it; it’s unbelievable. It is simply different. We still have work to do, especially on what I call the 'Manhattan Project' – we will be the first in the world to solve the explosive drone problem, which is a global issue, and we are solving it. 'But you haven't solved it 100%.' True, but we are on our way. If we had followed your suggestion to stop at Rafah, we would have gotten nada, zero, gornisht, nothing. I don't know how many languages are spoken here. Zero. That is not who we are. And then we continued – Syria. Here, too, they told us not to enter; they said it wasn't wise, speaking with such hesitation. We entered with all our might, and we also saved our Druze brothers, whom I salute. We will protect our Druze brothers and we will never abandon them. We have protected them, and we will protect them! And then we did what no one believed we would do. Because over the years, I have dedicated most of my adult life to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; I saw it as an existential threat to our survival. I do not want the thousands-of-years-old existence of the Jewish people to be cut short by these Ayatollahs acquiring nuclear weapons. We carried out operations, mostly with the Mossad, inside Iran, all kinds of operations, but they told us: 'A military operation in Iran? You are forbidden from doing that.' 'Eliminating the leadership of Iran? No, no, not that.' So I did not listen to them, and I led Operation Rising Lion. I chose this name, 'A people shall rise like a lion' – because we have a nation of lions and an army of lions, and I told them: 'Go in – we will enter with all our might.' I also told President Trump, well, two presidents, Biden first of all, when they told me 'Do not enter Rafah.' Do you know why they said 'Do not enter Rafah'? Because the President of the United States said he would halt the weapons supply. I said I respect him very much, and he even came here at the beginning of the war, but we have no choice, we will enter – and if we must, we will fight with our fingernails. Because there are moments when you must know how to tell even the President of the United States what we stand for. When I came to President Trump before Operation Rising Lion, I told him: 'We are going into Iran, because I am not waiting for these oppressors who declare openly that they want to destroy us, and you too, by the way, I told him, but us first. I will not let that happen. Therefore, we are taking action.' I didn't ask for permission; I simply informed him of our plan. To my joy, he also joined toward the end with a very important action. But they said 'it’s impossible.' Don't do it. Don't get entangled, because Iran will come and destroy our cities and our citizens, and thousands, if not tens of thousands, will die. So the very same people who told us don't enter Gaza, don't enter Rafah, don't enter Lebanon, don't enter Syria, don't enter Iran, Master of the Universe, don't destroy their leadership... Today, they come and tell us, 'But you didn't finish the job.' They, who wanted zero, come and tell us, 'You didn't achieve 100%, only 80-90%.' There is still work to do, it is not over, that is true, but who will do it? If you don't have true leadership, not what they put in the talking points of various advertising agencies. When you are tested on the ground, just as our commanders are tested on the ground, then the only thing that speaks is the result. And the result is monumental! There is still work to do in Gaza, in Lebanon, and against Iran, but I want to tell you two things: As long as I am Prime Minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons. And one more thing: As long as I am Prime Minister, we will maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon. For as long as it takes, we will maintain the security of the North, and together, we have also done a great deal for prosperity."

Head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate Tzipi Hotovely, announced today the appointment of Noam Shapira as Director of the National Public Diplomacy Staff, following a unanimous approval by the selection committee. Shapira (44), married and a father of five, resides in Kibbutz Merav. Lt.-Col. (Res.) Shapira is a veteran of the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit and has held a variety of management and command positions. In recent years, he has worked intensively on strengthening public diplomacy and consciousness across various arenas. Under the Operations Staff, he has led numerous efforts in international public diplomacy, leveraging strategic partnerships for Israel, and establishing the IDF's freedom of action during the War of Redemption. Head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate Tzipi Hotovely: "Noam brings with him management capabilities, strategic thinking and a deep understanding of the world of public diplomacy after many years in the IDF. The role of Director of the Public Diplomacy Staff is a key position within the organization, and I am confident that together we can work to strengthen the State of Israel and meet the challenges facing us."

Joint statement by the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff: A short while ago, a discussion took place between the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff, and the Commander of the Northern Command. The IDF will continue to act with determination in order to neutralize threats against our soldiers and our citizens, demolish terrorist infrastructure, and maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the Chief of the General Staff made it clear that the security of Israeli citizens and IDF forces will remain their guiding principle without compromise.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with a delegation of JINSA members – retired US generals and admirals, friends of Israel – at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today, at his office in Jerusalem, with member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "My directive, and that of the Minister of Defense, to the IDF is clear and has not changed: Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat to them or to the residents of the North. The IDF has no restrictions on this matter. I stand behind them; the entire nation stands behind them. My stance is firm on our remaining in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as is required in order to protect the residents of the North and all citizens of the state."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Congratulations to President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella @ABDELAESPRIELLA. I look forward to working with you to strengthen the bond between Israel and Colombia 🇮🇱🇨🇴 Friends of Israel keep winning. Viva to the Isaac Accords!

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Remarks at the @JNS_org International Policy Summit 2026 #JNS26 “Thank you, Mark Levin. I wish I could use you as my advisor. Every day. You know, in the United States they say that President Trump does everything that I ask him to do, and in Israel they say that I do everything that he wants me to do. Well, neither is true. We're leaders of independent and proud countries. We stand for our interests. I stand for the interests of Israel, and for its security. And often we see eye to eye. Sometimes we don't. But we respect each other's sovereignty, leadership and commitment to our people. Last year, standing on this stage, I saw some of you. I can't see any of you right now. But I saw some dear friends who are here. Richard. Thank you. We also have the Serbian president of Bosnia Herzegovina. Thank you, Madam. We'll have an opportunity to talk tomorrow. There are so many dear friends here. And I mean that. So last year standing on this stage I spoke about decisions. Difficult decisions. Historic decisions. Decisions that many at the time, Mark, many of those running against me, said I shouldn't have taken at the time. They told me not to enter Rafah. I entered Rafah. I was told not to strike Hezbollah. We struck Hezbollah. They told me not to confront Iran. We confronted Iran. And today, I want to begin with a simple question: What have we achieved? Because these same people and their cronies in the press are trying to diminish our achievements. In fact, they are trying to erase them completely. So what is it that we achieved. Here's what we achieved. We have prevented Iran from carrying out a plan to annihilate us, and today they would have had a nuclear weapon, an atomic bomb to do so. We prevented that from happening. We removed an existential danger. And had we not acted in Operation Rising Lion and then in Operation Roaring Lion, Iran would have had atomic bombs. And let me tell you something, they would have used them. That's what we prevented. Together with our American friends, the American Airforce, the American military, we carried out the largest air strike in our history. We destroyed Iran's nuclear infrastructure. We knocked out 20 of their top nuclear scientists. 12 in Rising Lion, another 8 in Roaring Lion. And when you take out the nuclear scientists, it's very hard to make a nuclear weapon. Exceedingly hard. We decapitated the leadership of the terror regime. We shattered their missile industry. We knocked out their nave, we knocked out their air force. We attacked their military industries, their bridges, we attacked so many targets that the cumulative damage that we did to the IRGC economy is not counted in the millions, it's not counted in the hundred millions, it's not counted in the billions, It's counted in the hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars. And it will take them a long time to recover. A long time. And they may not recover. Because once you deal these blows, and once the rift between the regime and the people is so deep, you cannot tell when such a regime will fall. And I think we created the condition for its future fall. That is what will be the real triumph. When the Iranian people take their own destiny in their hands and they knock out this brutal regime that is terrorizing them and terrorizing the rest of the world. But we didn't just confront Iran. We shattered Iran's terror axis. We took out Sinwar. We took out Haniyeh. We took out Deif. We took out tens of thousands of terrorists. And despite those who said it could not be done: We brought back to Israel every single hostage. Every last one of them. That too, some of my critics, they don't want to be reminded of this, but they said stop before Rafah. Make a deal. Let's get the terrorists, let's get our hostages out. We don't have to enter Rafah. We don't have to take the Philadelphi Corridor. We don't have to take down Hezbollah and for God's sake we shouldn't take on Iran. We didn't listen to them and we did it. Because we put our brave soldiers, our incomparably heroic soldiers right into their stronghold in Gaza and they capitulated. We brought back every last hostage and I think it's an achievement that the entire people of Israel and the entire people of the free world should be proud of. We brought them back. In Lebanon we exploded, I don't know if I should call it the beepers or the pagers. What do you use in America? Beepers. We exploded the beepers. We took out Nasrallah. We decimated Hezbollah's military machine. We prevented the Radwan force from invading the Galilee. We destroyed over 90% of the 150,000 rockets and missiles Hezbollah amassed against us. We established a security zone in Gaza. We established a security zone in Syria. We established a security zone in Lebanon. And we shall keep it as long as is necessary to protect our people. I'll tell you what other achievement which in many ways, as Sara tells me… You know what they say in the Bible. Everything Sarah said to Abraham, you know, God said, everything that Sarah says, you should listen to it. I'm not Abraham, but I listen to my Sara. I think the greatest achievement that we've made is to break through the barrier of fear. For years people told us you cannot attack the soil of Iran. Yes, you can do Mossad operations and we did quite a few. I authorized many. But you cannot send our military to Iran. But we changed that. We sent our brave pilots over the skies of Iran and they took out targets, regime targets, terror targets, Missile batteries, Missile production sites, and nuclear sites. We changed Israel's security doctrine. We initiate. We attack. We surprise. And we attack those enemies that seek our destruction, that seek to kill us. We attack them before they have a chance to do so. If you know Hebrew, הקם להורגך, השכם להורגו. Kill them first. I came here on the 50th anniversary of my brother's fall in Entebbe, from Mount Herzl, at his grave site. Yoni fell in Entebbe, leading his soldiers in what is regarded as the greatest rescue operation of modern times. Entebbe showed that a free people, if they mobilize their courage and muster their strength, and they will, they can overcome the worst tyrannies in the world, however threatening, however challenging. And indeed after the Entebbe rescue, the rash of hijacking that was covering the entire world, that rash of hijacking stopped, almost stopped completely. But the terror regimes did not disappear. And in fact they continue to grow, and the worst of them is Iran, the greatest sponsor of terrorism on the planet. 35 years after Yoni fell in Entebbe, in 2010, my father celebrated not far from here, at the Begin Institute, he didn't celebrate, they celebrated for him, his 100th birthday. Historians spoke of his historical research on the Spanish Inquisition and the origins of Zionism. And those who knew the story of his actions in the United States to muster support for the Jewish state during World War II, his meetings with Eisenhower and many others, they spoke about that too. And a day's worth of lectures and compliments and praise, my father came to the stage, unaided, he was 100 years old, and he said this. He said, thank you for your compliments. Thank you for these kind words. But time is short, so let me get right to the point. And here's what he said. Here's the point. "Iran vows to destroy the Jewish state. The people of Israel are showing the world how a nation should behave when faced with an existential threat. Stare unflinchingly at the danger, calmy consider what needs to be done and what can be done, and be ready to enter the fray at the proper moment." And then he ended his words, these are the last public words in my father's life, "This leads to my certain belief," he said, "that our people will roll back this danger to our existence." Well, 16 years later we did just that. And I say to you now what I said at my brother's grave a few hours ago, today. I said, no matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement, without an agreement, I pledge to you that Iran, as long as I am Prime Minister of Israel, will never have a nuclear weapon. Never. As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, I will not let that happen. And I said something else about Lebanon, and I repeat it here a few minutes ago, as long as we need to protect our people, we will remain in the security zone in South Lebanon. And the reason is perfectly understood. No country would be asked to do otherwise. Can you imagine the United States across the border, you have an army of thousands of terrorists who pellet your cities and your town with rockets and ballistic missiles and killer drones. They kill your soldiers, they kill your citizens, they kill your children. And they threaten them every day. Well, what would America do? Would it say, well, there's nothing we can do? Let's hold our fire? Is that what America would say? No! You know damn well what America would do. It would cross the border, create a security zone, kill the terrorists and protect its people until the threat is removed. That is exactly what we are doing. And let me tell you something else. No country would do it better. Because the terrorists, not only target civilians' they also hide behind their own civilians. They are, by the way, committing a double war crime doing that. So the question is what do you do about that. We target the terrorists, but there are some civilian casualties in every such #JNS26 every such urban warfare. And normally the ratio of combatants to non-combatants killed, non combatants to combatants killed is about 7 to 1, 8 to 1. In Gaza it was much much lower than that, despite all the lies and vilifications aimed at Israel. But I asked our people, our research arm in the Defense Ministry. I said, what is the ratio in Lebanon? And they said to me, today, I just got the document today. Prime Minister, it's 5 to 1. No, not 5 civilians killed for every terrorist, 5 terrorists killed for every civilian that is harmed in the process. 5 to 1. Unheard of. Because no army goes to such lengths like the Israeli army to target terrorists and minimize civilian casualties. We should be commended for it, not condemned. We do everything in our power to protect our people. We don't have a war with Lebanon. We have a war with Hezbollah who terrorizes Lebanon and seeks our destruction. And when that proxy of iran is no longer a threat, whether it's dismantled or disarmed, yes, we'll have peace with Lebanon and I look forward to signing it. By the way Mark, I intend to be here for quite a while. I want you to know that. These and other matters are the interests of the security of the State of Israel. I've devoted my life to protect the security of the State of Israel and nothing will change that. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And I can do so because I have the support of my dear family, my wife and my children, but I have the support of the vast majority of the people of Israel. Our people are so strong. They're so strong. Our soldiers are brave. There are no braver soldiers on the planet. They're so heroic. And we are determined, we are resolved to protect our country whatever the cost. But let me tell you something else, that I know troubles every one of you. We see the rising tide of terrorism. It afflicts every country in the world right now, and it afflicts the United States of America. Now let me tell you how antisemitism works down the ages. Ever since we lost our country and became defenseless, we were defenseless not only against physical attack, but the vilifications that often and always preceded them. So we were faced in one countrywith such vilifications and that led, eventually, to either one of two things. Either exile or massacre. And then we went to another country and we faced exactly the same thing, after the vituperations and vilifications, that we are poisoning the wells, that we drink the blood of slain children, that we carry vermin. And by the way, these are the exact lies that continued right up to the Nazi Holocaust. So we were faced with these vilifications and then we were massacred and then we were pushed to another country, and another country, and the same thing happened over and over and over again. Well, here's where the change happened. It happened with the rise of the State of Israel and the creation of the Israeli army. We may not be able to stop the vilifications. They come and go in a predictable cycle, as my historian father told me. But the change is that when they come to slaughter us, we fight back. We don't let them do that. We fight back and we roll them back. Exactly as we have done now in the last three years. I pledge to you, that we will also fight this battle of antisemitism around the world. We will fight on the eight front as well. The battle against delegitimization, the battle against the calumny that is directed against the Jewish people. But I ask you, the Jews of America and the Jews of the Diaspora, to do one thing. Stand up. Don't cower. Don't be afraid. Fight back. Because people will only respect us if we respect ourselves. When they level lies at us, throw back the truth, and do it standing up. Stand up for the truth, stand up for Israel, stand up for the Jewish people. Stand up for the Jewish future. Thank you, all”. Photo: Kobi Gideon/ GPO

WATCH LIVE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the @JNS_org International Policy Summit in Jerusalem. #JNS26 nitter.app/i/broadcasts/1MKgNNdBo…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "The heart of the nation aches for the loss of four of our finest sons: Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, Sgt. First Class Nir Ben Ari, Staff Sgt. Liav Kababia, and Staff Sgt. Nave Habshoosh, may God avenge their blood, who fell in battle in Lebanon. My wife and I send our heartfelt condolences to the dear families, who have lost their precious loved ones. Together with all the citizens of Israel, we embrace them in their time of sorrow and pray for the recovery of our wounded fighters. Yoav, Nir, Liav, and Nave fought with courage and supreme heroism on the front lines against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, in order to safeguard Israel's security. We will continue to do everything necessary to restore security for the residents of the north. May the memory of the fallen be blessed."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "I send heartfelt condolences to the families of the Commander of the Armored Corps 52nd Battalion, Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, and of three heroic fighters whose names have not yet been cleared for publication, may God avenge their blood. I also wish a speedy recovery to the wounded in the exchanges of fire yesterday. Following the heinous attack by Hezbollah, which is a flagrant violation of the ceasefire, I instructed the IDF last night to strike Hezbollah with force. The IDF struck over 80 terror targets and eliminated dozens of terrorists. Subsequently, the IDF struck Hezbollah command posts in the Beqaa Valley this morning. This morning, I held a situation assessment with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff. My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks. The IDF will act to thwart any threat to our forces and our territory. As I have made unequivocally clear, yesterday as well: Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary for the protection of the communities of the North."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu took part today in the unveiling of the new "Promenade" neighborhood in Kibbutz Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion, together with Head of the Regional Council, Yaron Rosenthal. The neighborhood is part of the expansion of the community, which is expected to double its size within a year. The Prime Minister and his wife planted a tree together with Noam Leiter, the son of Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who resides in the Gevaot community in Gush Etzion, alongside Ofri Nir, the daughter of the late Yuval Nir, of blessed memory, who fell in the War of Redemption. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Sara and I are moved to stand beside you – the residents of this place, Yaron Rosenthal, the families, and above all, the bereaved families that are my family, I know you. I will tell you why we are moved. There is a manifestation here of the power of life and the spirit of vitality that resonates within our people. We were expelled from this place before the founding of the State, and we returned to it; we built it, and we continue to build it. And this tree – in the beginning, when I was asked to plant a tree in one place or another, I said: "Fine, this is a symbolic act". But as I returned to those places years later – I expected to return as a citizen, but I returned there time and again as Prime Minister. And suddenly I see enormous trees – I saw this just now in Binyamin. I saw this here as well, in one of the communities. But this tree, its treetops will grasp the sky. This kibbutz has doubled in size – doubled itself twice within a year. And this is monumental; this is a manifestation of our spirit of vitality and of our sacred mission: to take root in our homeland despite our enemies, despite all the pressures; and to ensure that we are not merely treading over the past of the nation of Israel, but that we are securing its future. This is what we are doing here; this is what you are doing here. You are guarding the past and securing the future. The two are intertwined, because we have no future without our past. We know this, and you know this. I would simply like to come out, on my behalf and on behalf of my wife, and say thank you. Thank you for what you are doing. And invite us to the Bar Mitzvah of this wonderful tree."