Israel to keep 'degrading Hezbollah' until objectives met, says Netanyahu

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu signalled to the world from the United Nations on Friday that the multiple conflicts in the Middle East were far from resolved, and he vowed to continue battling the Lebanese Hezbollah and defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip until total victory".

Shortly after the prime minister spoke, blasts rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut and the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah's headquarters. The exact target wasn't immediately clear, but it appeared to be significant enough to prompt Netanyahu to cut short his trip to New York by a day and make unusual travel on the Jewish Sabbath to get home.

Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that's exactly what we're doing, Netanyahu said, eliciting applause from supporters in the gallery of the General Assembly. We'll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met, he said.

Netanyahu spoke as international mediation efforts were underway t