Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – 4 October 2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Saturday, 4 October 2025) [translated from Hebrew]:

“My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, we are on the verge of a very great achievement.

It is not yet final; we are working on it diligently, and I hope, with G-d’s help, that in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to inform you about the return of all our hostages, both living and deceased, in one phase, while the IDF remains deep within the Strip and in the controlling areas within it.

At the beginning of the war, a very senior security establishment official said: ‘It is doubtful whether we can bring back even one living hostage.’ Throughout the war, there were also those who claimed relentlessly that we could not receive all the hostages without a complete and full withdrawal from the Strip. I thought differently – and I acted differently.

Thanks to the determined decisions I led together with the Government, and thanks to the bravery of our fighters who pressured Hamas, we have so far returned 207 of our hostages.

But I have never given up on the remaining hostages. I have also never given up on achieving the other objectives of the war. As I said to the hostages when I addressed them directly from the UN podium: ‘We have not forgotten you, not even for a moment.’

Throughout the war, my wife and I have met with the families of the hostages. We saw their pain. We heard their suffering. And we share their prayers that they will soon embrace their loved ones, and the families of the deceased hostages will be able to bring their loved ones – our loved ones – for Jewish burial.

To bring back our remaining 48 hostages, a few weeks ago I instructed the IDF to enter the most important Hamas stronghold – Gaza City.

Concurrently, I coordinated a diplomatic move with President Trump and his team that instantly flipped the script. Instead of Israel being isolated – Hamas is isolated.

As a result of the intense military pressure we applied and the diplomatic pressure, Hamas was pressured into agreeing to the plan we presented.

In the first stage, hamas will release all of our hostages, and IDF forces will redeploy in a way that the IDF will continue to hold all of the controlling areas deep inside the Strip.

I have heard that some people are saying today that Hamas was ready a year ago, or even two years ago, to release all our hostages without us fully withdrawing from the Strip. I tell you – that is simply a lie.

What brought about the change in Hamas’s position is solely the military and diplomatic pressure we have exerted.

Thanks to the great support that I received from you, citizens of Israel, and thanks to the bravery of our fighters, I stood up to tremendous pressure from within and without to stop the war and surrender to Hamas’s dictates.

You know what would have happened then. We would have left Gaza with almost no achievement. We would not have entered Rafah and taken control of the Philadelphi Corridor, thereby stopping all possibility of smuggling weapons into the Strip. We would not have eliminated Haniyeh, Sinwar, Deif, and Nasrallah.

We would not have brought about the collapse of the Assad regime and the breaking of the Iranian axis of evil, and above all – we would not have removed the existential threat of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles from Iran.

This is a historic achievement that will be recorded in the annals of Israel and also in the annals of nations. I thank my friend, our friend, President Trump, who assisted this historic operation by dispatching the B2 planes to bomb the nuclear facility in Fordo, and I thank him for his steadfast support.

There were those who dismissed the possibility that we could succeed in bringing about the release of all our hostages without a full withdrawal from the Strip.

They said: ‘It’s too good to be true.’

So I tell you: ‘It’s true’ – and with G-d’s help, it will happen very soon.

I have instructed the negotiating team, headed by Minister Dermer, to go to Egypt to close the technical details of the release of our hostages.

Our intention and that of our American friends is to limit this negotiation to a few days.

You heard President Trump today, he clearly said: We will not tolerate any more delay tactics, time-wasting, or evasion on the part of Hamas.

In the second stage, Hamas will be disarmed and the Strip demilitarized. This will happen either via a diplomatic route according to the Trump Plan – or via a military route by us.

I also said this in Washington: Either it will be achieved the easy way, or it will be achieved the hard way – but it will be achieved.

I thank the IDF fighters and the security forces – you are heroes! I salute you. I embrace the bereaved families who have sacrificed what is most dear, and the wounded in body and soul, who have sacrificed so much. I wish them a quick and complete recovery.

Everything we have achieved – we achieved thanks to all of you, and so too, you, the citizens of Israel, who showed steadfastness and patience during very trying days.

Together, we pushed back our enemies’ plans of destruction. From Gaza to Rafah, from Beirut to Damascus, from Yemen to Tehran, together we have achieved great things.

From victory to victory – we are changing the face of the Middle East together. Together we will continue to act to ensure the eternity of Israel.

As it is said in our sources [Isaiah 41:6; ]: ‘They helped every one his neighbor, and every one said to his brother, ‘Be of good courage.’”