Beit Shemesh, Israel, March 2 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday visited the site of an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, marking the third day of a large-scale joint military offensive against the Iranian regime.
Standing amid the wreckage of the targeted civilian area, the 76-year-old leader framed the ongoing conflict as a global mission undertaken alongside the United States to neutralize what he described as a nuclear-capable Tehran.
“This is the third day of Operation Roaring Lion, the operation the Israeli army and the State of Israel set out on, with our great friends, the United States of America and President Trump, to thwart existential threats to Israel and grave threats to America and the entire world,” Netanyahu said while speaking to reporters.
The prime minister’s visit to the bombed site was intended to underscore what he described as the contrasting military strategies of the two sides. He accused Iran’s leadership of deliberately targeting civilians, while asserting that Israeli and U.S. forces are focused on the regime’s infrastructure.
“When I stand here in a place that was bombarded by the terrorists in Tehran against innocent civilians, you see the difference. The tyrants of Tehran target civilians. We target the tyrants of Tehran to protect civilians,” he said.
Expanding on the scope of the threat, Netanyahu argued that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ regional aggression is a precursor to a broader campaign against Western nations, noting that the regime’s rhetoric extends beyond Israel’s borders.
“I’ve said for many years that they threaten not only Israel but also America. They chant ‘Death to Israel, death to America.’ That’s their ultimate target. But I said they would also target those in between, that they would target Europe. They did,” he said.
Netanyahu warned that the current military offensive was a necessary preventive measure to ensure that Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities do not advance to the point of threatening global security with potential nuclear payloads.
“If this regime, this terrorist regime of the kind we’ve never seen in the world, gets nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them—ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles—they will threaten all of humanity,” he cautioned.
He reiterated that the Israeli-American alliance is serving a broader purpose through Operation Roaring Lion.
“So we set out to protect ourselves, but in so doing, we protect many others. I want to say special thanks to our great friend and a great leader of the world, Donald Trump, for joining us in this crucial effort to save the world,” Netanyahu said.
As the operation unfolds, attention has also turned to Iran’s regional proxies. According to the Israel Defense Forces, Hassan Maklad, identified as the head of intelligence headquarters for Hezbollah, was killed in a precise strike in Beirut on Monday.
In a post on its official X account, the Israel Defense Forces said the strike eliminated Maklad and that additional details would follow.
The targeted killing followed overnight retaliatory strikes on multiple Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces said the group is “entering a fight it cannot win” as tensions escalate across West Asia.
In a video statement, IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Israeli forces struck several Hezbollah targets, including command and control centers, launch sites, and senior operatives.
“Overnight, the IDF carried out retaliatory strikes against several Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including command and control centers, launch sites, and senior terrorists. We were ready for this,” Shoshani said.
He added that as part of Israel’s preparations for operations in Iran, the military had anticipated potential attacks from the Iran-backed group in Lebanon, enabling a swift response.
“As part of the preparations for our operation in Iran, the IDF prepared for an attack from Hezbollah, allowing us to carry out a swift response,” he said.
Shoshani also said Israeli aircraft were simultaneously striking targets in Iran, including in the capital, Tehran, and targeting what he described as underground bunkers belonging to the Iranian regime.
“As I am speaking right now, our aircraft are striking targets in Iran, including Tehran, such as underground bunkers of the terror regime. We are operating to eliminate any threats to our civilians and will continue doing so,” he said.
Warning Hezbollah against further escalation, Shoshani said, “Hezbollah is entering a fight it cannot win.”
His remarks come amid heightened tensions in West Asia following joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran that reportedly led to the death of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and members of his family on Sunday.
Following those strikes, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks targeting multiple countries in the region as retaliation.
The Times of Israel, citing Lebanon’s Health Ministry, reported that at least 31 people were killed and 149 others injured in overnight strikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces across southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district. The ministry’s figures did not distinguish between civilians and Hezbollah members among the casualties.
The escalation followed coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on February 28, targeting military command centers, air defense systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure.
Those strikes reportedly resulted in the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities.
U.S. President Donald Trump described the strikes as necessary to “ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.”
In response, Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones targeting U.S. assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates. (ANI)
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