Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s recent military campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities was carried out to prevent what he described as a potential “second Holocaust.”

Speaking in a prerecorded address for Yom Hashoah, Netanyahu said that without the joint Israeli and U.S. strikes, key Iranian nuclear sites could have become synonymous with catastrophe. “The names Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan and Parchin might have been remembered eternally in infamy,” he said, referencing Nazi death camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka.

The remarks were delivered during Israel’s annual state ceremony marking Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, which was broadcast rather than held live due to security concerns amid the fragile ceasefire with Iran.

Netanyahu said “Operation Roaring Lion” is part of a broader effort to counter the escalating Iranian threat. He accused Iran’s leadership of pursuing nuclear weapons, expanding its ballistic missile arsenal, and supporting regional proxy groups in a coordinated effort to encircle Israel.

“They thought they could act unhindered,” Netanyahu said. “But no more.”

According to the prime minister, the IDF has been working to dismantle Iran’s regional network of influence, which he characterized as an “axis of evil,” through sustained military operations across the Middle East.

Netanyahu contrasted the current state of Israel with the vulnerability of Jews during the Holocaust, emphasizing the country’s military strength and capacity for self-defense. “Today, we have a state that is stronger than ever,” he said, adding that those who seek to destroy Israel now face consequences “on a scale they could never imagine.”

He also highlighted what he called “historic cooperation” with the United States, noting that Israeli and American forces had operated “wing to wing” in the campaign. Netanyahu suggested that the effort not only defended Israel, but also contributed to broader regional and global security, including in Europe.

In his address, Netanyahu slammed European nations for “moral weakness” and a failure to fully internalize the lessons of the Holocaust, urging a clearer distinction between “good and evil” in confronting modern threats.

The prime minister concluded by reaffirming Israel’s resilience and growth since its founding, calling it a “transformation from Holocaust to rebirth,” and vowing that the country would continue to serve as a “beacon of liberty, progress and prosperity.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)