President Herzog today gave an interview to US based international news outlet CNBC, and reiterated that Israel did not want war with Lebanon, but maintained the right and duty to defend its people against the ongoing missile attacks by the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah.
The President said, “For 11 months, Israelis have been evacuated from our north, about 100,000 people leaving everything behind.” He added, “Nasrallah decided that he wants to keep on going in the war because we are trying to negotiate a hostage deal, and Sinwar, in the dungeons of Gaza, says no and again, no and again, no. The entire international community is trying to resolve this conflict, and we commend them for that. But the resolving of the conflict means bringing back our hostages home, and first and foremost, we have to remove the threat from Israel's northern border, and that's what we're trying to do.”
The President stressed, “Israel did not want this war, and is not interested in going to war with Lebanon. But Israel has been attacked since October 8, but from Lebanon endlessly. Today, Hezbollah has launched missiles and rockets all over the northern part of Israel. So we will do whatever it takes to bring our citizens back home and enable calm in our cities. We've shown our capabilities, and we have much more on the way if they will continue."
He stressed, “Let's not be mistaken here, the attacks were started by Hezbollah following the horrific attack of October 7 by Hamas. They've joined forces as they are proxies of the Iranian empire of evil. And all of these proxies are trying to close in on Israel from all sides of our borders. That's the real situation now.”
He added, “Hezbollah is a terrorist army which basically hijacked a nation called Lebanon. We tell the Lebanese people that we have no war with them, that we care for them, that we want to enable a peaceful future between us and Lebanon. It should have come long time ago, but because Hezbollah is one of the most heavily armed armies in the world, we must defend ourselves. We alert, we give ample warning, according to the rules of international law, but people have missiles in their kitchens, in their living rooms, in their storage rooms, in their mosques, in their shops. Now ask yourself, do you know anybody around your family or vicinity that holds a lethal weapon of such magnitude in his own home?”
In response to the remarks by the President of Iran, President Herzog noted, “The issue is, of course, that the Iranian president says something, and yet his Guards are leading the entire region into the abyss by ongoing terror, by the pressing the button, by instructions of his own generals, who are seated in the control rooms of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah and the Houthis and the proxies in Iraq.” He stressed, “They fund and finance them. They give them the ammunition. How come a small tribe of 50,000 people in Yemen has ballistic missiles and cruise missiles? Very few nations have it. How come Hezbollah, which is situated in Lebanon and should have been abiding by Lebanese Government, but the opposite has occurred in recent decades."
"Unfortunately, this is a real strategic situation if the president of Iran really wants to lead to a different direction, then these proxies must be eliminated, must be removed.”