Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday that his country will continue the war against Hezbollah until "all objectives" are achieved. In his speech, he never mentioned the international proposal announced Wednesday evening for a 21-day cease-fire, led by the United States and France.

"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war," he declared, "Israel has no choice, and Israel has the right to eliminate this threat and bring its citizens home safely." Israeli bombardments in Lebanon have killed more than 1,500 people since Oct. 8, and about half of the death toll is from the last week alone, when Israel ramped up its airstrikes on southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, and Beirut's southern suburbs. Hundreds of civilians were among those killed and around 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

"Just this week, the Israeli army destroyed a significant portion of Hezbollah's rockets, which were built with Iranian funding over three decades," Netanyahu said. "We have eliminated senior military commanders... and their replacements. We will continue to degrade Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."

Read more.

Netanyahu tells Knesset that pressure on Hezbollah will convince Hamas to sign hostage deal

Many delegates and diplomats, including from Arab and Muslim countries, such as the Lebanese and Palestinian representatives, left the room upon his arrival.

"My country is at war and fighting for its survival," Netanyahu claimed. "But after hearing the lies and slanders against my country from many speakers at this podium, I decided to come and restore the truth."

"Here is the truth: Israel seeks peace. Israel longs for peace. Israel has made peace and will make it again," he insisted.

Israel has rejected several cease-fire proposals, notably one written up by its number one ally, the U.S., in June that was also used as the basis of a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate end to fighting, which Hamas had expressed its approval for.

"We are facing wild enemies... Our enemies seek not only to destroy us but to annihilate our common civilization and return us all to a dark age of tyranny and terror," the prime minister said.

'Enough is enough!'

"On Oct. 8, Hezbollah attacked us from Lebanon. Since then, it has fired over 8,000 rockets at our cities, at our civilians, and at our children," Netanyahu accused, as his army's airforce continued its heavy air raids on dozens of southern Lebanese villages throughout the afternoon.

"Israel must defeat Hezbollah in Lebanon," he said. "Hezbollah is the quintessential terrorist organization in today's world. Its tentacles extend across all continents."

He reiterated that his country will fight until the citizens of the North "can return home safely."

"Enough is enough! For 18 years, Hezbollah has blatantly refused to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires it to distance its forces from our borders. Instead, it has approached our border. It has secretly dug tunnels of terror to infiltrate our communities and has indiscriminately fired thousands of rockets at our cities and villages. They have endangered their own population. They have placed a missile in every kitchen, a rocket in every garage," he said.

Then, Netanyahu presented two maps to the General Assembly, titled "The Blessing" and "The Curse." On the first map, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan are shaded in green. On the second, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon are shaded in black and presented by Netanyahu as "the aggressors."

A message to Hamas

After nearly a year of war against the besieged Gaza Strip and more than 42,000 people killed, the Israeli prime minister urged Hamas to "leave." He called on it to "lay down its arms" in the small Palestinian territory ravaged by the Israeli offensive and to "end the war."

"This war can end. All Hamas has to do is surrender, lay down its arms, and release the hostages," Netanyahu stated. "If [Hamas fighters] do not do so, we will fight until we achieve victory, total victory. There is no alternative."

"In Gaza, we see this moral confusion when Israel is falsely accused of deliberately targeting civilians. We do not want to see a single person, a single innocent, die; it is always a tragedy, and that is why we make so much effort to minimize civilian casualties, even as our enemies use civilians as human shields."

Threats against Iran

The Israeli Prime Minister threatened to "strike" Iran in the event of an attack against his country. "I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: if you strike us, we will strike you," he declared.

"There is nowhere in Iran that Israel's long arm cannot reach," he said before the United Nations. During this "high-level week" in New York, Israel has been the subject of numerous speeches strongly condemning its deadly military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

Benjamin Netanyahu also called on the U.N. Security Council to reimpose sanctions against Iran "to ensure it never acquires nuclear weapons."

"We have made our choice," he said. "We want to move towards an era of peace and prosperity. Iran wants to move towards an era of terror. Which side will you be on? Will you be on the side of Israel or on the side of Iran, a terrifying dictatorship?"

'Anti-Semitic Swamp'

Finally, at the end of the 35-minute speech, the Israeli prime minister, who lacks significant support on the international scene except from the United States, criticized the United Nations, with which its relations are strained.

"I tell you, until Israel, until the Jewish state, is treated like other nations — until the anti-Semitic swamp is drained, the U.N. will be regarded by righteous people as nothing more than a contemptible farce," he said.

"Given the anti-Semitism that prevails at the U.N., no one should be surprised that the ICC prosecutor issues arrest warrants against me and against the minister of defense," he added, accusing the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of "pure and simple anti-Semitism."

"The real war criminals are not in Israel. They are in Iran, Syria, Lebanon. Those who stand on their side should be ashamed! But I have a message for you: Israel will win this war," he continued. "Be strong and courageous! The people of Israel will remain!" Netanyahu concluded his speech to applause from the members of the Israeli delegation.

Israël continuera jusqu'à ce que « tous » les objectifs soient atteints, affirme Netanyahu