Israeli PM Netanyahu Pledges to Bring Home Every Hostage

Two years after the devastating October 7 Hamas massacre, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before grieving families on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl and vowed to complete Israel’s war goals and bring home every last hostage still held in Gaza.

At a solemn state memorial ceremony for Israel’s fallen soldiers, Netanyahu declared:

“With your steadfastness, citizens of Israel we will defeat our enemies, and secure our future together, with God’s help.”

Netanyahu was joined by his wife, Sara, and spoke directly to the families of the hostages and those killed since the war began. His message was one of unshakable commitment and national unity in the face of immense tragedy.

The ceremony marked Israel’s second annual national day of mourning since the October 7, 2023 attack, when thousands of Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s borders, murdering approximately 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 more. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

Flags across the country were lowered to half-staff, and communities from the Negev to the Galilee held moments of silence and remembrance.

“Two years ago,” Netanyahu said, “we received a shocking illustration of the term ‘genocide.’ I am not speaking about a fictitious genocide... The Oct. 7 massacre was a monstrous slaughter.”

The prime minister underscored that Hamas and its allies would have murdered every Jew in Israel if they could. But, he said, “the people of Israel rose like a lion” fighting back in a seven-front war that has taken Israeli soldiers as far as the skies over Tehran.

Netanyahu confirmed that all twenty living hostages have now been returned under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire led by President Donald Trump, but stressed that Israel’s mission is far from complete.

“We will bring home all the fallen. We will achieve all our objectives,” Netanyahu said. “But only through internal cohesion, mutual responsibility, and strengthening what unites us.”

President Isaac Herzog, also present at the ceremony, warned of the dangers of internal division.

“It shocks me to see and hear how even now, as we continue to bury our dead, the spirit of division raises its ugly head,” Herzog said. “Our story is thousands of years old. When we unite around a flag and a mission, there is no mission we cannot accomplish.”

Since the beginning of the war, the Israel Defense Forces has lost 916 soldiers, with hundreds more Israeli civilians murdered in the initial massacre and subsequent attacks. Despite this heavy toll, the prime minister framed the moment as a pivot point a time to remember the past, remain steadfast in purpose, and work toward a future of security and peace.

“Our forefathers built a home,” Netanyahu concluded. “We who walk in their path add to the assurance of that home for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.”

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