Netanyahu vows to defend Israel against 'seven-front war of terror'

In a video statement released Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation and the international community with a sharp condemnation of what he called the “moral blindness” of several Western leaders. 

He defended Israel’s ongoing military campaign while linking it directly to a global war against terrorism—one that claimed the lives of two young Israeli diplomats just days earlier in Washington, D.C.

Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgrim, staffers at the Israeli embassy, were shot and killed by a man reportedly shouting “Free Palestine” as he was apprehended. Netanyahu described the murders not as random violence, but as a direct continuation of the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 250 taken hostage in one of the darkest days in Israel’s history.

“This was not an ordinary crime,” Netanyahu said. “It was an anti-Semitic assassination. The victims were not chosen at random. They were targeted for being Jewish, just as Hamas did on October 7 when they raped, burned, and beheaded innocents—including babies—and took families hostage.”

Netanyahu referenced German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s statement during his visit to Israel, in which he said: “These Hamas terrorists are exactly like the Nazis.” The Prime Minister called this not an exaggeration, but a necessary recognition of reality. “When they shout ‘Free Palestine,’ they are not demanding peace or independence. They are calling for the destruction of Israel. This is today’s ‘Heil Hitler.’ And the civilized world must stop pretending otherwise.”

The Prime Minister did not hold back when criticizing Western leaders he believes are undermining Israel’s ability to defend itself. He called out French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Labour leader Keir Starmer, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for demanding an immediate ceasefire and threatening Israel with sanctions. “These demands send a clear message,” Netanyahu said. “They want Hamas to survive. They want Hamas to regroup, rebuild, and launch another massacre. That is the consequence of their policies, whether they intend it or not.”

Netanyahu went on to argue that the notion of creating a Palestinian state following the October 7 massacre is not just misguided—it is dangerously delusional. “Gaza operated as a Palestinian state for 18 years. And the result was the most atrocious massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. To now suggest building another one ignores everything we have just lived through.”

He warned that any Palestinian state would inevitably fall under the control of Iran, just as Gaza did. “To pretend otherwise is to ignore the fundamental geopolitical reality of the Middle East.”

Despite the horrors of war, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel has shown unprecedented humanitarian concern. Since the start of the war, more than 92,000 truckloads of aid—totaling 1.8 million tons of food and supplies—have entered Gaza. “No army in history has ever acted with such moral clarity in the middle of a war,” he stated. “While we are feeding civilians, Hamas is stealing that aid, enriching itself, and using it to fund further terror.”

To address this, Netanyahu announced a new initiative, developed in coordination with the United States, in which American companies will begin directly distributing aid in designated safe zones. The plan is designed to bypass Hamas and ensure that help reaches those who need it most. “This proves once again that while Hamas uses its own people as human shields, Israel goes out of its way to protect civilians.”

Netanyahu also drew a contrast between the responses of European leaders and former U.S. President Donald Trump. While many in Europe, he said, have been swayed by “terrorist propaganda,” Trump and his administration “understand the reality on the ground and continue to support the only democracy in the Middle East.”

He warned that Israel is now engaged in what he called a “seven-front war,” directed by Iran. “This is not just a fight against Hamas. It is a coordinated campaign by Iran and its proxies against Israel and against the free world. Hezbollah, the Houthis, militias in Syria and Iraq—they are all part of the same Iranian war effort.”

In this context, calls for a ceasefire are not calls for peace, he argued, but demands for Israeli surrender. “To ask Israel to stop now is to ask us to capitulate to international terrorism. That is morally unacceptable. That is strategically suicidal.”

He concluded with a message not just to Israelis but to the world: “Justice is with us. Truth is with us. History is with us. In the face of an enemy that celebrates death and glorifies hatred, Israel stands for life, liberty, and human dignity. Those who support Israel today will be remembered as being on the right side of history. Those who give in to the blackmail of terrorists will be judged by future generations for their blindness.”