Netanyahu says 'mission must be completed' in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech to begin his Likud party's election campaign on Thursday in which he insisted that he and his party "are the only ones who can guarantee Israel's security". "The mission must be completed; we must bring down the Iranian regime and totally destroy Hezbollah and Hamas," he said. Netanyahu also accused his electoral opponents of wanting to make "territorial concessions", and pointed to Israeli troops in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza as evidence that "we take land instead of giving it", repeating his refrain that he "has changed the face of the Middle East" and vowing to change it yet again. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows a pager presented as belonging to Hezbollah as he delivers a speech in Tel Aviv, on 17 September 2026 (Jack Guez/AFP)