WATCH: Netanyahu to foreign ambassadors: 'There is no substitute for victory. We will defeat Hamas. We will dismantle Hamas.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with about 80 foreign ambassadors in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Below are his remarks published by the Government Press Office.
What we see is a broader battle between civilization and barbarism. The barbarism is led by an axis of terror. The axis of terror is led by Iran. It includes Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis and their other minions. They seek to bring the Middle East and the world back to a dark age. They seek to torpedo, to derail any progress towards peace and the progress and the promise that we had in our budding peace treaties with our Arab neighbors. If they go strong, if they're not defeated, they will derail this process, they will imperil the entire Middle East. If the Middle East falls to the axis of terror, Europe will be next and no one will be safe. This is not a local battle. This is a global battle. The paramount need is to defeat this axis.
That battle is now being waged by us against Hamas in Gaza. There is no substitute for victory. We will defeat Hamas. We will dismantle Hamas. We will offer the people of Gaza and the entire peoples of the Middle East a real future, a future of promise and hope. But this requires victory. We have the will and we have the power to do so. We will win. And we believe that all civilized powers should back us in this effort because this battle is your battle and our victory is your victory.
In response to a question on how it is possible to assist Israel, Netanyahu said:
First, to stand with Israel. I think that all civilized countries should stand with Israel because this is our common fight. And as I said, our battle is your battle and our victory is your victory.
I also spoke yesterday to the president of the Red Cross and I asked her to personally be involved in an effort that we've been talking to the Red Cross from day one of the war, that is to demand an immediate and unconditional release of the hostages and access to the hostages and information about the hostages. Something that is required by humanitarian international law and Hamas violates as well.
I think you should back that call. You should be part of that call every day.
We want the release, the unconditional release of our hostages immediately. We want that information. We want that access to the Red Cross.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
