Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, April 14, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun / File.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that if Israel was forced into another war with Hezbollah, “we will act with tremendous force and ensure our victory.”

Israeli news site Mako reported that, speaking at a memorial service for soldiers who fell in the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, Netanyahu noted there were three challenges facing Israel in Lebanon.

“The first is the takeover of a neighboring country by radical Islam; the second is the introduction of missiles into Lebanon, and specifically precision-guided missiles; and the third is the danger of penetrating our territory, above or below the ground,” he said.

Netanyahu explicitly linked the situation in Lebanon to Iran and the Tehran regime’s attempt to entrench there, as well as in Syria, saying, “The struggle against Iranian aggression must be of the whole world.”

He cited the recent Operation Northern Shield, in which a series of Hezbollah-dug tunnels under Israel’s northern border were destroyed, recalling, “We neutralized terror tunnels that Hezbollah dug for years into our territory.”

“I do not want to elaborate on other actions we are taking, the surprise will come in time,” he added. “We are not looking to go to war, but if we are forced to do so, we will strike our enemies a crushing blow.”

Citing the 25th anniversary of the Iran-sponsored bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina, Netanyahu said, “Today, we stand 25 years after the murderous attack on the Jewish community in Buenos Aires, and the time has come for the entire enlightened world to understand the gravity of the danger posed by Iran and Hezbollah, so the entire world will stand against them.”

“Unfortunately, this has not happened,” he added, but emphasized that if Israel must face Iran alone, “we will do so.”

He also said that if Israel went to war with Hezbollah, the Lebanese government would pay a heavy price.

“The Lebanese government does not express any opposition to the entrenchment of Hezbollah in its territory,” Netanyahu said. “It will also bear responsibility.”

“If we have to go to another war, we will act with tremendous force and ensure our victory,” the prime minister pledged.