Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu convened with the IDF General Staff Forum on Monday at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.
During the meeting, Netanyahu praised the IDF’s senior leadership for their execution of Operation Rising Lion in Iran and acknowledged their efforts in safeguarding Israel’s long-term security.
“Personally, I would like to express immense appreciation and gratitude to you Defense Minister Yisroel Katz, to you IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and to you, the members of the General Staff Forum for perfectly executing that missions that we set. ‘A people that rises up as a lion’ – and much more,” said Netanyahu.
He reflected on Jewish history, noting that for centuries, Jews were unable to resist their aggressors, enduring displacement, massacres, and ultimately genocide.
“Over the centuries of our exile, the Jewish People lost the ability to oppose those who attacked it. We became as a leaf driven in the wind, a people that experienced exile, pogroms, murders and, in the end, the worst act of murder in history,” he added.
Netanyahu described the birth of modern Zionism as a turning point, when early visionaries recognized that Jews wouldn’t be spared violence—but would instead need the strength to defend themselves.
“When the fathers of Zionism arose approximately 130 years ago, most of them did not think that the attacks on the Jewish People would end with the establishment of the State of Israel, but that we would formulate the diplomatic and military force to oppose these attacks. This is the line that separates between the generations of Jewish history and what has happened in our generation – the establishment of the state and the IDF.”
He spoke of Iran’s continued threat, calling it potentially more dangerous than the united Arab hostility Israel faced in past decades.
“In Iran, a threat was created for us that was no less strong and perhaps even greater than the pan-Arab threat at its peak, and it still threatens us,” the Prime Minister stated.
Netanyahu said he had long believed that the most serious threat to global safety was the combination of extremist Islamic regimes and nuclear weapons.
“40 years ago, and certainly 35 years ago, I thought that the greatest danger to humanity was the link between nuclear weapons and an Islamist regime, or the link between an Islamist regime and nuclear weapons.”
He outlined Iran’s multi-pronged strategy, saying it’s not limited to one path of destruction, but instead includes multiple layers of threats.
“But Iran did not suffice with this because, in effect, they built three axes of annihilation: First – the noose, a plan for the annihilation of Israel by means of an axis. The second – a plan for the annihilation of Israel by means of a missile threat. And the third – a plan for the annihilation of Israel by means of a nuclear threat.”
According to Netanyahu, Iran’s ruling regime is built on the goal of eliminating Israel—not merely as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite to regional domination.
“This is the raison d’etre of the regime. This is not the only reason why they want to annihilate us and we are not their main objective. But in order to realize the main objectives, they must get rid of us. It is impossible to conquer the Middle East without annihilating Israel. And if there is no Israel, the Middle East collapses immediately.”
Using a vivid metaphor, Netanyahu compared Israel’s security threats to a patient with two malignant tumors, stressing that survival depends on proactive and aggressive intervention.
“The State of Israel was like a person who has two cancerous tumors – one was the nuclear threat and the second was the missile threat. If you do not excise them – you die. It could be that you excise them and they return, like you treat cancer. But if you do not excise them, we die,” said Netanyahu.
He emphasized that there was no alternative but to act, and praised both the political leadership and the military for their unity and decisiveness throughout the process.
“Therefore, there was no question here. We had to make this decision. And the way in which it was made, unanimously by the political echelon, and unanimously by the IDF command – under your outstanding leadership, which improved exceptionally on a daily and weekly basis.”
Netanyahu also addressed concerns about U.S. support, clarifying that although Israel worked to secure American cooperation, the operation would have gone forward regardless.
“The question arose regarding the US, and I told you that we would do everything to get them on board, but this was not a condition. It was not a condition,” he stressed.
He concluded by highlighting the long-term significance of the military action, describing it as a defining moment not just in Israeli history, but in global military doctrine.
“But none of this would have been possible without the intensive and superb operation that will be etched in the history of our people, and – in my view – in the history of the world, certainly in the military history, which I believe everyone will come to study. This has major implications for our economy – we are already feeling it.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
