Netanyahu: Israel will protect freedom of navigation at sea

By Lazar Berman

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7 July 2026, 4:38 pm

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a naval base in Haifa on July 7, 2026. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Israel will protect the freedom of navigation on the seas, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to the naval base in Haifa.

“I set a simple objective,” he says. “The objective of the Navy, and of Israel, is to ensure shipping routes and freedom of maritime trade, which are so important to the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu’s comment come as Iran continues to strike tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and after the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen issued new threats to Israeli ships in the Red Sea.