Netanyahu cuts US visit short after apparent blast on Hezbollah headquarters
Netanyahu was greeted with some jeers as well as applause, as he delivered an animated 30-minute address at the UN General Assembly on Friday
Benjamin Netanyahu's office have confirmed he is returning to Israel, after cutting his visit to the United States short.
The office made the announcement shortly after a massive Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.
The Israeli Prime Minister, who has been in New York to address the United Nations, had been scheduled to stay in the US until Saturday night.
It comes after he declared Israel is "winning", warning that Israel will "continue degrading Hezbollah" as he addressed the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Speaking in front of world leaders in New York amid growing pressure over Israel's attacks in Lebanon, the Israeli prime minister said his country "won’t rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes".
He said Israel must defeat Hezbollah, which he described as having "tentacles that span in all continents".
Netanyahu says he came to the UN General Assembly to refute the "lies and slanders" levelled at his country
He added that his nation will “continue degrading Hezbollah" until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border.
“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing... we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met," Netanyahu said.
He also defended his nation's response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said he travelled to the United Nations to refute the "lies and slanders" levelled at his country by "speakers at the podium".
Explosions rocked Beirut shortly after Netanyahu vowed Israel's campaign against Hezbollah would continue.
The Israeli military claimed to have carried out a “precise strike” on the central headquarters of Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s foreign minister earlier warned the crisis in the country “threatens the entire Middle East” and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire “on all fronts.”
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Across the course of the week, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged retaliatory fire killing hundreds of people and displacing tens of thousands more.
Lebanon’s health ministry said nearly 700 people had been killed so far this week.
Israel claims it is targeting Hezbollah’s military capacities and senior Hezbollah commanders in the strikes.
On Thursday, the UK joined the US, France and a host of allies in calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, warning the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah is “intolerable”.
Former United States Ambassador to Israel, Ambassador David Friedman tells ITV News on his disappointment at the Biden-Harris administrations failure to reach a ceasefire agreement.
In a joint statement, the 12-strong bloc calls for a 21-day ceasefire “to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement”, as well as a ceasefire in Gaza.
The statement calls for the governments of Lebanon and Israel to “endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately… and to give a real chance to a diplomatic settlement”.
Signatories to the statement include the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
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