In a warning to Iran-backed proxy militias in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "axis of terror" built by Iran was collapsing, pointing to the assassinations of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Announcing the death of Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Netanyahu said the "reign of terror" of the Iranian regime would also come to an end.
"The Axis of terror that was built by Iran is collapsing. Nasrallah (Hezbollah chief) is gone, his deputy Mohsen is gone. (Ismail) Haniyeh is gone, Mohammed Deif (Hamas military chief) is gone. The reign of terror that the Iranian regime has imposed on its own people and on the peoples of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen -- this too will come to an end," Netanyahu said.
The remarks are a reference to the axis of resistance - a network of Iranian-backed militias and political outfits in the Middle East. The axis of resistance, which includes the Assad regime and Iranian-backed militias in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraqi militias, Yemen's Houthis, and Hamas, has been the cornerstone of Iran's regional policy.
"We have a great opportunity to halt the (Iranian-led) axis of evil and to create a different future," Netanyahu said.
In the course of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, Iran's network of proxies has significantly ramped up hostile activity targeting Israel directly as well as the US presence in the region.
However, the Prime Minister cautioned that Israel's war against Hamas and other Iranian proxies was "not over yet" and there were "still difficult days ahead", but in the end, "we will win".
On Thursday, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that Sinwar was among three people killed in an airstrike in Gaza.
Calling it an important moment in the war, Netanyahu said Israel had "settled its account" with "the person who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust".
