Netanyahu made his remarks during an event at a Sderot hesder yeshiva, with N12 News reporting that some of the students began to sing anti-Palestinian songs in front of the prime minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that a potential attack from Tehran would be "one of their last decisions," as he addressed the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and threats from Iran during a visit to the Afiki Daat Hesder Yeshiva in Sderot on Wednesday.
"Pay attention also to what is happening with Iran," said Netanyahu. "They are attacking and threatening everyone, but not here, because they already know what the significance of an attack against Israel would be."
Netanyahu also addressed the situation in Gaza, claiming that Israel has altered the security reality in the region. "We control a wide area in the Strip and are acting against those who threaten us. Just yesterday, we took out Hamas's Shin Bet chief, and there is no one raising their head in Gaza," he said.
The prime minister listed several senior Hamas figures who have been killed since the October 7 Hamas massacre, including Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, and Izz al-Din al-Haddad. "We are changing the reality around us and removing, one by one, the threats against the State of Israel," he added.
At the start of his remarks, Netanyahu praised hesder yeshiva students for their "participation in the fighting," as he described it.
"Hesder yeshiva students serve as an example and a model of the combination of sifra and saifa, of Torah, sacrifice, and bravery," he said. "From the first day of the war, you and your friends have been fighting with courage for the people of Israel and the State of Israel, and I salute you on behalf of the entire people of Israel."
During the event, some of the students began to sing anti-Palestinian songs in front of the prime minister, N12 News reported earlier on Wednesday, with Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi also in attendance.
According to the report, the students called for revenge against the Palestinians, singing an edited version of "Remember Me," a song composed by Dov Shurin after the 1996 murders of Yaron and Efi Unger at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.
Hesder students at a Sderot yeshiva sing anti-Palestinian songs during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, September 2, 2026. (credit: Eli Hirshman/N12)
The song is associated with far-right Jewish extremism, according to N12. Students were filmed singing lines such as "And avenge one of my two eyes from Palestine, erase their name."
An Israeli security source told Al-Monitor that the Air Force remains on high alert and is capable of resuming strikes against Iran at short notice.
"We know how to pave the corridor back to the heart of Tehran on short notice," he said.
Since the US naval blockade began on April 13, Tehran has targeted American bases in the Gulf and Jordan while refraining from attacking Israel.
Israeli security officials attribute Iran's restraint to two possible explanations: Tehran may be preserving Israel as a strategic option for a later stage, or it may fear the consequences of an Israeli response.
While defense officials remain divided over whether a renewed confrontation is imminent or could occur further down the line, the source said the military is prepared for either possibility.
Three Israeli diplomatic sources told Al-Monitor that Israel would likely prioritize destroying what remains of Iran's nuclear program, which suffered significant damage last June and again this year, including buried stockpiles of weapons-grade enriched uranium.
The sources said strikes against the regime or broader infrastructure would be secondary objectives rather than the primary focus.
They added that Israel views US efforts to target Iranian radar systems, missile capabilities, and naval mines as secondary priorities, despite the threats those systems pose to American forces and regional shipping.
"With all due respect to the Strait of Hormuz, we are less focused on it," a source close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toldAl-Monitor.
"Our working assumption is that until the US midterm elections, the President will not embark on a major enterprise, but will instead consolidate current gains, and those gains are substantial. The economic blockade is taking a very heavy toll on Iran."