There is no ambiguity about Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu declining a U.S.-French proposal for a ceasefire between the Jewish state and Hezbollah, Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told JNS on Friday afternoon, after an Israeli strike targeted Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
“When Prime Minister Netanyahu landed yesterday, he said it very directly. We will continue to fight the terrorists of Hezbollah, and we mean what we say. We are fighting terrorists,” Danny Danon told JNS, of Netanyahu’s comments upon touching down in New York City on Thursday.
The Israeli prime minister’s remarks appeared to indicate that he wasn’t interested in a three-week respite from hostilities, even though Washington had suggested that the proposal had Jerusalem backing. Netanyahu clarified his remarks on Friday morning, prior to his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, and said that he “shared the aims” of the ceasefire proposal, without explicitly committing to it.
Shortly after his speech, Netanyahu left a briefing with reporters hurriedly after receiving an update from his military secretary.
It quickly became clear why, with reports that the Israel Defense Forces had struck the underground headquarters of Hezbollah in suburban Beirut, with footage suggesting massive explosions. It was later reported that the target was Nasrallah, the terror group’s secretary-general and seemingly lone part of the chain of command after Israel eliminated his entire senior organizational structure in strikes over the last week.
According to some reports, the Israeli strike on Friday killed Nasrallah and other terror leaders, but that was not confirmed at press time.
“We will hunt them down,” Danon told JNS. “They cannot hide. Not in Beirut. Not anywhere else where they are hiding. We are committed to win this war.”
Danon said Israel has been patient but, echoing Netanyahu’s refrain from his speech at the United Nations, “Enough is enough.”
The Israeli envoy told JNS that Hezbollah can stop the war today by moving north behind the Litani River and implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the terror group’s disarmament.
Even some who support Israel’s prosecution of the war against Hamas have said that it should have moved more quickly against the terror group, especially since it would face widespread criticism no matter how it proceeded. But Danon said that Israel’s strike on Nasrallah in Beirut and its operation at such a quick pace wasn’t a lesson learned from IDF operations in Gaza.
“It’s a different area, different territory. In Gaza, we are fighting a terrorist organization which hides behind civilians. It’s much more challenging,” he told JNS.
“You have to move the population out in order to maneuver. In Lebanon, it’s different, but we have the same determination,” Danon said. “The same way we showed our strengths and stamina against Hamas, we are doing the same with Hezbollah. We’re using different tactics.”
Danon emphasized that “today, they are feeling it.”
In his General Assembly speech, Netanyahu focused on the possibilities for peace in the region if only the world would take action against Iran and its terror proxies.
When Netanyahu discussed the prospect of normalization with Saudi Arabia, however, cameras panned to Riyadh’s section of the hall, in which its ambassador’s seat was empty.
JNS asked Danon whether Israel has partners now for broader peace.
“We have to realize we are at war time. Everything is very sensitive at the United Nations,” the Israeli envoy said. “We understand that there were few Arab representatives who stayed in the room, and we appreciate that.”
“It’s challenging now,” he said.
Danon took away from the speech “the determination of the prime minister to win this war.”
“We need a victory, and then we move to peace,” he said. “But first we have to be victorious.”
(JNS)