Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said tonight that the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was a historic turning point that could change the balance of power in the Middle East, while warning Israelis that “difficult days” are ahead.

“Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist,” Netanyahu said in his statement. “Killing Nasrallah was a necessary step in achieving our goals, returning northerners safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years to come,” he added.

The Israeli prime minister also claimed that the death of Hassan Nasrallah would also hasten the return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip after the attack carried out by the Palestinian Hamas on October 7, 2023.

“We are determined to keep hitting our enemies (…) If someone comes to kill you, get up and kill them first,” he said.

With Nasrallah’s death, “we have settled our accounts” with a man who was responsible “for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, among them hundreds of Americans and dozens of Frenchmen,” he continued, referring to the attacks that took place in Beirut in 1983.