President Herzog explains to the British press in a Sky News interview why Israel must fight

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was asked about the Israeli military's defensive measures against the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon amid rising tensions on Israel's northern border.

In a interview Speaking to Sky News presenter Sir Trevor Phillips, Herzog said: “These heads of state who were wiped out by the Israeli attack on Friday met to launch the same horrific, savage attack that we had on October 7.”

“We expect all of our allies to stand with us in the fight against this terrible situation and as we fight to bring our hostages home,” Herzog added.

The Israeli President stressed several times that Israel does not want this war and is responding to the aggression.

“Hezbollah started this war. It started after the terrible attack by Hamas on October 7. Since then, Hezbollah has been bombing us non-stop. Nearly 100,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes. The entire north is destroyed. We have been restricted further and further, but something has to stop. We have to return our citizens to their homes. This is the most natural obligation of any nation to its citizens.”

“Israel's simple message: We do not want war. We absolutely did not seek this war.”

“We don't want war with Lebanon, but Lebanon has been hijacked by a terrorist organization that is also a political party in Lebanon, called Hezbollah. It is armed to the teeth by the Iranian evil empire, and all of those leaders that were wiped out by the Israeli attack on Friday, all of those leaders met to launch the same horrific, horrific attack that we had on October 7 by Hamas, burning Israelis, slaughtering them, raping their women, kidnapping and taking hostage old people and young people and little babies – so this is exactly the same plan that they have been hatching for years under the Iranian evil empire. So we are actually fighting the war for the entire free world.”

While Phillips expressed concerns about the “nature” of Israel's defensive measures, Herzog reminded him: “We are working to change that equation. That is, we have to get our hostages back from Gaza and we have to make sure that this attack from Gaza is not repeated, and we have to make sure that this attack from Lebanon is not repeated. That's all. It's very simple, and life can go on in a peaceful way on an internationally recognized border between Israel and Lebanon.”

Herzog stressed that Israel is also fighting on behalf of its allies, as they all face a common threat.

“I think our friends should understand that we are fighting their war too. In the long run, you have to understand that there is an empire of evil that really thinks and believes in terms of an ideology, namely the jihadist ideology, in conquering the Middle East and expanding into Europe and the rest of the world. They call you Satans. They want to plant bombs in your cities all over the world. Hezbollah has terrorist cells in countries all over the world, so you wonder why?”

Herzog highlighted Iran's involvement in arming the Houthi rebels in Yemen and drew attention to the negative impact of their actions on global economic stability.

“How is it that Iran is arming a tribe in Yemen, the Houthis, on the Red Sea coast, and driving up the cost of living for every single British, European or American family? This cannot continue. We expect all our allies to stand shoulder to shoulder with us in fighting this terrible situation and fighting as we do to bring our hostages home. There are 101 Israeli hostages who have already been in Gaza's dungeons for 352 days.”