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Friday 18 Sep 2026
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kicked off his Likud party's election campaign with an address highlighting genocide of Palestinians in besieged Gaza and Israeli invasion of parts of Lebanon, Syria. (Photo/Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kicked off his Likud party's election campaign with an address highlighting genocide of Palestinians in besieged Gaza and Israeli invasion of parts of Lebanon, Syria as well as attacks on Iran.
Sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes in Gaza, Netanyahu has come under fire for his government's failure to prevent the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, but on Thursday he insisted that he and his party "are the only ones who can guarantee Israel's security".
He went on to list Israeli aggression that has taken place in Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza since 2023.
"The mission must be completed; we must bring down the Iranian regime and totally destroy Hezbollah and Hamas," he said.
He also accused his rivals 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".
The premier repeated his refrain that he "has changed the face of the Middle East", vowing to change it yet again, without offering specifics.
Rogue regime
Netanyahu heads the most extremist government in Israeli history.
He has led his country into genocide and a series of wars while ramping up construction of illegal Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israel continues genocide in Gaza on a daily basis, breaching what is a one-sided truce, and continues attacks and occupation in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu is the first head of government to face a criminal trial, with several corruption charges levelled against him, which he denies.
Opinion polls show the October 27 elections are likely to be close.
The bloc led by Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies is squaring off against that of his main opponent, centrist Gadi Eisenkot, who is backed by parties from both the right and the left.
Israeli aggression in Mideast
On June 26, Lebanon and Israel signed a US-sponsored framework agreement in Washington providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the deployment of the Lebanese army in areas vacated by Israeli forces.
Despite the agreement, Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon and still occupies areas in the south, some for decades and others seized during recent wars and military operations.
On Thursday, Lebanon said the death toll from Israeli attacks between March 2 and September 17 had risen to 4,386, with 12,407 others wounded.
The ministry said the overall toll since October 8, 2023 had reached 8,953 killed and 30,643 wounded.
Since October 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war on Gaza, while the army has intensified its attacks in the occupied West Bank alongside increased occupier attacks against Palestinians and their property.
Palestinian officials in Gaza have reported deaths of nearly 80,000 Palestinians since the genocide began.
Thousands more are feared buried beneath rubble.
Experts contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000.
In addition to the genocidal war in Gaza and attacks on the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, the Israeli army has waged two wars on Iran since last year, as well as carrying out attacks on Yemen and Qatar and near-daily ground incursions and artillery shelling in Syria.
For decades, Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Lebanon and Syria, refusing to withdraw from them or allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as stipulated in relevant UN resolutions.
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Source: TRT
