• Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN’s general assembly, where he said his country is winning. He declared that there is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach and called for a peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

• Speaking of Hezbollah, Netanyahu said “enough is enough” and that “we won’t rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes.”

• The Israeli leader also criticised the United Nations and the ICC prosecutor, and said that no army has done what Israel is doing to minimise civilian casualties.

• Earlier, the prime minister said in a statement that Israeli teams had meetings to discuss the US ceasefire proposals on Thursday and will continue discussions in the days ahead. “Israel shares the aims of the US-led initiative of enabling people along our northern border to return safely and securely to their homes,” the statement said.

• UK defence secretary John Healey is looking at a rumoured Israeli ground invasion into Lebanon “really carefully” and that airstrikes and rocket fire exchanged between Israel and Hezbollah present a “risk that this escalates into something that is much wider and much more serious”.

• The Lebanese health minister, Firass Abiad, said 25 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since the early hours of today. Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

• Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Tel Aviv and Ashkelon with a ballistic missile and a drone.

• The UN said on Friday that a “catastrophic” intensification of Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah militants had left Lebanon facing its deadliest period in years, with its hospitals overwhelmed by casualties.

• The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that more than 30,000 people, mainly Syrians, have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours.

• Australia suggested the world set “a clear timeline for the international declaration of Palestinian statehood” in a sign of increasing frustration about the stalled peace process.

• Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip shot and killed an aid worker from a US-based charity, firing on her car in what officials said was a case of mistaken identity.

Outside the luxury Loews Regency hotel on Park Avenue, a small group of anti-Benjamin Netanyahu protestors gathered across the street. Some waved Israeli flags while others held signs with Netanyahu’s face imprinted with a red handprint.

One protestor, Yehuda Cohen, 55, condemned Netanyahu’s speech at the UN.

“While there is intense war in Israel, he’s dealing with himself … he thinks he’s the great speaker, he will save Israel by speaking, he’s actually destroying Israel. He’s responsible for the events of 7th of October,” Cohen said.

“He must put everything aside, stop the war and go for a hostage deal. I want my son back home. I sent my son to the army so he can protect Israel. On the 7th of October, they were outnumbered, he was neglected and kidnapped … The Israeli government, it’s not that they’re doing nothing for a hostage deal, they’re doing everything to prevent a hostage deal,” Cohen added.

Netanyahu also stressed the need to achieve a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, citing the experience of the Abraham accords.

“I say to you, what blessing such a peace with Saudi Arabia would bring – it would be a boon to the security and economy of our two countries, it would boost trade and tourism across the region, it would help transform the Middle East into a global juggernaut,” he said.

“Such a peace, I’m sure, would be a true pivot of history: it would usher in a historic reconciliation between the Arab world and Israel, between Islam and Judaism, between Mecca and Jerusalem,” the Israeli leader said.

“One of the best ways to foil Iran’s nefarious designs is to achieve the peace,” he added.

Speaking of Hezbollah, Benjamin Netanyahu said the group has murdered the citizens of many countries and attacked Israel unprovoked.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “We won’t rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes,” he added. “We will not accept a terror army perched on our northern border, able to perpetrate another 7 October-style massacre,” he said.

“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East,” Netanyahu said at the UN general assembly.

“We are winning,” he declared, showing a map he termed “the curse” of Iran’s influence and another which he described as a blessing.

Netanyahu also called for an end to the “appeasement” of Iran. Everything must be done to ensure Iran doesn’t get nuclear weapons, the Israeli leader added.