During the meeting, Zamir praised Netanyahu’s leadership, calling the operation a “masterpiece” of coordination between Israel’s political and military leadership.
“Prime Minister, I thank you and the defense minister for your joint leadership and your understanding of the magnitude of the moment,” Zamir said. “What we did here will be studied for generations. The way the political and military levels worked together in sync — from the long preparatory stages through decision-making to execution — was a work of strategic and military art.”
Zamir highlighted the “tremendous courage” shown by Netanyahu, Katz and the security cabinet. He credited the operation’s success to years of consistent policy, long-term goals set for the military and diplomatic efforts that helped secure legitimacy from the United States.
“From the world power to the pilot at the tactical edge, it was all done in combination and with mastery,” he said.
Katz echoed the praise. “At the moment of truth, the burden of decision rested on all of us, but above all on the shoulders of one man — you, Prime Minister,” he said. “On behalf of all of us, the people of Israel and our friends around the world, I thank you.”
Netanyahu thanked both Katz and Zamir. “I express my deep appreciation and gratitude to you, the defense minister, the chief of staff and the General Staff for the flawless execution of the missions we set out,” he said.
He placed the operation in a broader historical context, saying the creation of the State of Israel restored the Jewish people’s ability to defend themselves after centuries of exile, persecution and mass murder.
“Operation Rising Lion will rise — and beyond,” Netanyahu said. “For generations we were powerless, victims of pogroms, expulsions and, ultimately, the greatest act of mass murder in history. The State of Israel and the IDF changed that.”
He warned that Iran now poses a greater threat than the pan-Arab alliances of the past. “I’ve believed for 40 years that Iran is the greatest danger to humanity — the combination of a nuclear weapon and an Islamist regime,” Netanyahu said.
He described Iran’s efforts as a three-pronged plan to destroy Israel: strangulation through proxy militias, missile threats and a nuclear program.
Netanyahu compared the threat to cancer. “One tumor is the nuclear threat, the other is the missile threat. If you don’t remove them, you die,” he said. “They may return, like cancer does, but if you don’t act — we’re finished. That’s why we had no choice. And the way the decision was made — unanimously by the political and military leadership — was extraordinary.”
On the role of the United States, Netanyahu said Israel worked to bring Washington on board but stressed it was not a condition for action. “This operation wouldn’t have been possible without the powerful, exceptional action that will be recorded in our people’s history — and, I believe, in world history,” he said. “Everyone will come to study it.”
