From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Hegseth lauds Israel’s killing of Hezbollah heads; Netanyahu: Our victory is your victory
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praises Israel for eliminating Hezbollah leaders, including military commander Fuad Shukr, who was wanted for his role in the deadly 1983 bombing of US Marine Barracks in Lebanon.
“You have a long memory, and we have a long memory,” he says.
Criticizing the Biden administration for holding up weapons shipments to Israel, Hegseth says: “We supplied munitions that were previously not supplied, that were useful in eradicating radical enemies.”
He declines to say whether US troops could be deployed to Gaza in support of President Donald Trump’s proposal for the country to take over the war-torn territory, instead explaining that “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again.”
“The president is willing to think outside the box. To find new and unique ways to solve problems that felt like they were intractable,” he says. “We are prepared to look at all options.”
In his remarks, Netanyahu says that Israel is a unique US ally, “in that we have no compunction about fighting our enemies by ourselves. We are willing to shoulder the burden of our defense by confronting the forces of radicalism and terror, and the forces that are anti-American at their core.
“They call you the Great Satan, and they call us the Small Satan, we just stand in their way. You are their great enemy,” he argues. “By confronting these various enemies, we are not only defeating those who wish to attack us, but those who wish to attack you as well.
“Therefore our victory is your victory,” says Netanyahu, adding that Israel is “well advanced” in pursuing its war goals.
