Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement to the media this evening (Wednesday) - and at the beginning of his remarks, thanked the citizens of the country.
""Citizens of Israel, I want to thank you, our wonderful people. When you showed resilience while sitting in the battalions and shelters, we achieved tremendous achievements together. Our fighters are on the front lines - and you are on the home front. But first of all, I would like to bow our heads to our loved ones who fell in this battle.
I would like to hug the bereaved families and send on behalf of all of you my best wishes for a speedy recovery to our wounded loved ones. My brothers and sisters, the State of Israel has achieved tremendous achievements, achievements that until recently would have seemed completely imaginary. Iran is weaker than ever, and Israel is stronger than ever. This is the bottom line of this campaign, up to this moment. And I would like to make it clear: We have more goals to complete - and we will achieve them either by agreement or by renewing fighting. We are prepared to return to fighting at any moment necessary. The finger is on the trigger.
As you know, a two-week temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran went into effect tonight, in full coordination with Israel. No, they did not surprise us at the last minute. Now I want to emphasize - this is not the end of the campaign. This is a stop on the way to achieving all our goals.
Iran enters the negotiations battered and weaker than ever. It pledged to open the Strait of Hormuz after giving up all its preconditions. It gave up lifting sanctions, receiving compensation, a final end to the war, and even a ceasefire in Lebanon. While Iran is weaker than ever, Israel is stronger than ever.
Six weeks ago, for the first time in history, we went to war shoulder to shoulder with my friend President Trump and our great ally the United States. We went on a historic operation, the largest operation the Middle East has ever known. Such a thing has never happened in the history of Israel. Such a partnership between Israel and the United States against our greatest enemy has also never happened in the history of Israel. And yes, I can reassure those who are concerned about the relationship between me and President Trump. How did he say… "You are great." We talk every day and we smile when we hear these assessments.
In any case, those who choose to ignore the strength of this partnership are simply ignoring the truth. As US Secretary of War Pete Hesseth said today - the appreciation for Israel as an ally on the battlefield - the appreciation for our heroism, for our courage, for our skill, this appreciation is skyrocketing. President Trump, my friend Donald, I want to thank you for your leadership and your friendship. The deep friendship between us, the deep friendship between the United States and Israel, is changing the face of the Middle East. We set out together to remove an existential threat from the State of Israel and from the entire free world - and we are carrying out this mission.
We are carrying it out step by step. Target by target. If we had not gone to 'Am Kalavi', and then if we had not gone to 'Ari's Roar', Iran would have long since had nuclear weapons and Iran would have had many thousands of missiles to destroy Israel and threaten the existence of all of us. We have removed this double existential threat from our heads. We have set back the terrorist regime in Iran by many years. We have undermined its foundations. We have crushed it. What have we achieved up to this moment: We have crushed Iran's missile production machine.
Not only did we destroy existing missiles, we destroyed the factories that produce the missiles. The Iranians are firing what's left in their magazine, and the magazine is getting empty. But they are not producing new missiles. We have severely damaged Iran's nuclear program. We have destroyed many nuclear infrastructures, centrifuge factories, and more, and we have eliminated more nuclear scientists who joined those we eliminated in 'Am Kalavi.' And with regard to the enriched material that still remains in Iran. As senior Trump administration officials said today - the enriched material will all leave Iran. Either it will leave by agreement or it will leave by renewed hostilities. And we see eye to eye on this issue.
We crushed the money machine and the weapons production machine of the Revolutionary Guards. We destroyed steel plants, petrochemical plants, weapons production plants, bridges and railroads for transporting troops and weapons. We destroyed military infrastructure - the Iranian navy, dozens of aircraft, missile bases and headquarters. We severely damaged the regime's repressive apparatus, eliminated thousands of its operatives and proved that we can hunt them down anywhere. They have nowhere to hide. We eliminated the regime's senior officials, from the dictator Khamenei to the top of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij. As a result of Israel's determination and strength, strength and determination that everyone sees in the Middle East, we are creating new alliances with countries in the region.".
Regarding Hezbollah, the Prime Minister emphasized, "I insisted that the temporary ceasefire with Iran would not include Hezbollah. And we continue to hit it hard. Today we dealt Hezbollah the biggest blow it has suffered since the beepers. We attacked 100 targets in 10 minutes, in places that Hezbollah was sure were immune.
Wonderful residents of the North - we are committed to restoring your security. We have created deep security belts beyond our borders - in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza - where we control more than half of the Strip and strangle Hamas from all sides. Citizens of Israel, anyone who tries to ignore these great achievements, great achievements of the State of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF, anyone who tries to dwarf them - either does not know what he is talking about, or is speaking from foreign considerations. Because the truth is simple: As I promised you at the beginning of the War of Rebirth - we have changed the face of the Middle East in favor of Israel in a dramatic way, and we will continue to do so. Because we are the initiating side, we are the fighting side, and with God's help - we are the victorious side.
"Happy May Day, citizens of Israel, the holiday of Israel's unity. May you prosper and feast.".
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