{"id":309241,"date":"2026-02-25T09:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/309241\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:43:18","slug":"benjamin-netanyahu-israel-to-use-unimaginable-force-if-iran-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/309241\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel to use unimaginable force if Iran attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel will reply with \u201cunimaginable\u201d force if Iran launches an attack on Israel<\/a>, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday evening while speaking at a 40-signature debate at the Knesset.<\/p>\n

The prime minister said Israel was facing \u201cvery complex and challenging days\u201d amid ongoing tensions with Iran and was prepared to respond to any threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are vigilant and prepared for every scenario. I have made it clear to the ayatollahs\u2019 regime<\/a> that if they make perhaps the gravest mistake in their history and attack Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot imagine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The prime minister also praised Israel\u2019s relations with the United States following his recent visit to meet with US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a 40-signatures debate at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, February 23, 2026 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I can say regarding the protection of millions of Israeli citizens, Israel has never been stronger. The alliance with the US<\/a> has never been closer, including between our security agencies and their intelligence services. Nothing like this has ever existed before,\u201d he told the plenum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these days, on the eve of Purim, at times like this, the people\u2019s ranks must be tightened, standing shoulder to shoulder. I trust our commanders, our fighters. I trust our people, and I trust you, citizens of Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lapid: All differences will be set aside in the Iran war<\/p>\n

Opposition leader Yair Lapid<\/a> (Yesh Atid) sharply criticized the prime minister and his security policies during his speech responding to Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

He also slammed the prime minister for the government\u2019s handling of the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023 and for blocking a state commission of inquiry to investigate the massacre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat will define you in history is the October 7 massacre. Only the October 7 massacre. I understand the attempt to write a different history.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know the truth. That\u2019s what scares you so much. History will remember only the October 7 massacre from you,\u201d Lapid said.<\/p>\n

Lapid\u2019s remarks come after the Prime Minister\u2019s Office requested this month that the word \u201cmassacre\u201d be removed from the title of a bill that proposes to establish a national day of commemoration for the October 7 Hamas attacks.<\/p>\n

The change in wording in the bill has sparked outrage among bereaved families, with many accusing the government of attempting to reshape the narrative of October 7 to cover up failures.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the shock, part of the pain, is that when we look back, we cannot understand how you did not see everything that was in front of you,\u201d Lapid said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you not see where the suitcases of money from Qatar were leading? How did you not see where the wrong, destructive policy of strengthening Hamas was leading?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n

Regarding tensions with Iran, Lapid told the plenum that there is \u201ca decent chance that we are on the brink of a campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this campaign comes, and it should come, we will all put everything else aside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll disagreements will be frozen in deep suspension until the anger passes. As in the past, I will mobilize for Israeli advocacy and for strengthening Israel\u2019s international standing,\u201d Lapid added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will go wherever needed, from CNN to the UK Parliament, and I will tell them, \u2018You know I am the opposition leader; you know that Netanyahu and I are rivals, but Iran must be struck with full force; the ayatollahs\u2019 regime must be overthrown,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 40-signature debate was titled \u201cLoss of Security Control Within and Beyond Israel\u2019s Borders.\u201d Under Knesset rules, such a debate can be initiated by the opposition on a topic of choice and requires the prime minister\u2019s attendance. While Netanyahu typically addresses multiple topics in lengthy speeches during the debates, this session was primarily focused on Iran and was relatively brief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel will reply with \u201cunimaginable\u201d force if Iran launches an attack on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16097,49,85,87,145137,55,46,15005,14406,47,43,19344],"class_list":{"0":"post-309241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-ayatollah-ali-khamenei","9":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-iran-us-nuclear-talks","13":"tag-islamic-republic","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-israel-iran-war","16":"tag-knesset","17":"tag-middle-east","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-yair-lapid"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}