Israeli PM: We’re fighting Iran, not the Lebanese people

Amid the escalating conflict in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized in a speech on Sunday that Israel's battle is not with the Lebanese people, but with Iran.

“These days we mark the anniversary of the difficult war that was imposed on us, the war of revival against the axis of evil of Iran,” he said on Sunday, just days after the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack, when Iran-backed Hamas invaded Israel.

“We are not fighting the Lebanese people. We are fighting the terrorist branch of Iran, Hezbollah, which has taken over Lebanon. All of which is aimed at providing a human shield to Hezbollah terrorists.”

On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah joined the fight with Hamas, forcing Israel to face conflict on its southern and northern fronts.

Israel has also vowed to retaliate against Iran for a large barrage of ballistic missiles launched by Tehran against its territory earlier this month.

On Sunday, the premier issued a warning to the UN to move the peacekeeping forces from southern Lebanon “out of harm’s way”.

Five peacekeepers have been injured in fighting since Operation Arrow of the North began last month. Israel started with a series of deadly air strikes, targeting Hezbollah’s top ranks, including killing the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israeli offensive has expanded this month into what it calls a ‘limited ground operation’, but combined, has now seen 1.4m Lebanese displaced and hundreds more killed.

During the address in Hebrew, he turned to English to address UN Secretary General, Antony Guterres. “Mr. Secretary General get the UNIFIL forces out of harm’s way, it should be done right now, immediately,” he warned.

In Hebrew, he expressed regret for the injuries suffered by the UNIFIL soldiers. "We do everything in our power to prevent this injury, but the simple and necessary way to prevent this is to simply get them out of the danger zone,” he said, warning their presence is also a danger to Israeli soldiers.

UNIFIL, set up in 2006, was designed to keep Hezbollah and other armed groups behind designated lines, and to see the disarmament of all such groups in the area. Neither has since been achieved. Hundreds of UN peace keepers are in South Lebanon, while Hezbollah completely militarized the region, preparing to fight Israel.

Hezbollah was Iran’s largest and most powerful proxy until a few weeks ago. While a Hezbollah operative earns $1,500 a month, the Lebanese Armed Forces, the only armed power able to challenge Hezbollah, are paid just $300 a month. Limited by resources in the ailing economy, their troops often do not even have funds for gasoline to fuel their patrol trucks.

On Sunday, Israel announced it had captured a Hezbollah militiaman in one of the group’s tunnels, along with huge stashes of armaments, the first such announcement since fighting began. He was taken to custody in Israel while scores more projectiles continued to be fired into Israeli territory.