Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, casting fresh doubt on the prospects of a U.S.-led push to halt the fighting.

“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice and Israel has every right to remove this threat,” Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met.”

It was a defiant speech from Netanyahu, who had postponed his trip to the U.N.’s annual high-level meeting to oversee an air campaign against Hezbollah that began Monday and has resulted in the deaths of more than 700 people. Tens of thousands have fled the bombardment in the country’s south.

Netanyahu didn’t mention a proposal put forward by the U.S., the European Union and several Arab nations to impose a three-week cease-fire. Earlier Friday, his office had said the government would take part in deliberations on the plan.

Instead, he doubled down on Israel’s fight and said it must “defeat” Hezbollah. He also reiterated that Israel must achieve “total victory” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, signaling that moribund efforts toward a cease-fire in that conflict are unlikely to be revived.

In response to Israel’s attacks, Hezbollah has stepped up rocket strikes, including by targeting Tel Aviv, in the worst violence between the two sides since a 2006 war. The group claimed four attacks on Israel Friday, saying it would increase attacks on civilian areas.

U.S. officials have argued the Lebanon cease-fire still has a chance, and France’s foreign minister was headed to Beirut for more talks. One person familiar with the U.S. stance said the Biden administration believes Israel wants to maximize its military gains ahead of any potential truce.

The problem with this strategy is that the longer the fighting continues the greater the chance that either Israel or Hezbollah miscalculates and sparks a broader war, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private assessments.

Overshadowing the Lebanon campaign is Israel’s warning that it is preparing to stage a potential ground invasion into Lebanon. That would risk dragging in key ally Washington as well as Hezbollah’s sponsor Iran.

The tension has been on display at the U.N. meeting all week, with several speakers criticizing Israel for the high civilian death toll that’s resulted from its campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking on Tuesday, accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians and threatened “coercive measures” against Israel. Without mentioning Israel by name, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented that the “level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible.”

“Stop the bloodshed, stop the suffering, bring the hostages home and end the occupation,” Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said in a speech earlier Friday. “Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now.”

Netanyahu has rejected that criticism, saying Israel had no choice but to defend itself in the months since Hamas, labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. and the E.U., attacked his country on Oct. 7. The group killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

Netanyahu said Israel has gone out of its way not to target civilians in its campaign, which has killed 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

---------

(With assistance from Iain Marlow and Courtney McBride.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.