During the address, Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to push out the Iran-controlled terror organization, Hezbollah, and to break their reins of control over Lebanon.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday night that Israeli airstrikes killed the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s successor, Hashem Safieddine, who has been missing since October 3rd.
During the address, Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to push out the Iran-controlled terror organization, Hezbollah, and to break their reins of control over Lebanon.
“We have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and the replacement of his replacement,” Netanyahu stated.
Safieddine, a maternal cousin of Nasrallah, was a cleric who wore a black turban, indicating direct descent from Mohammed.
After a strike on Friday in Southern Beirut, Safieddine was assumed to have been severely injured in an area underground where it would have been difficult to escape alive.
A Lebanese security official told Sky News Arabic that the chances of surviving such a strike were “almost zero” and that Safieddine had been “unreachable” since Friday.
“Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many many years,” Netanyahu continued.
In his address, Netanyahu said Hezbollah had destroyed Lebanon, which had once been referred to as “The Pearl of the Middle East.”
“So, what happened to Lebanon? A gang of tyrants and terrorists destroyed it. That’s what happened,” Netanyahu said.
Today, it’s a place of chaos, a place of war,” Netanyahu stated.
“You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering, as we see in Gaza. It doesn’t have to be that way,” Netanyahu said.
“I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end,” Netanyahu said.
“Free your country from Hezbollah so that your country can prosper again so that future generations of Lebanese and Israeli children will know neither war nor bloodshed but will finally live together in peace,” he said.