Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a recorded statement to the media this evening (Saturday night).
"Dear citizens of Israel, at the outset, I would like to send, on behalf of my wife and I, and I am sure on behalf of all of you, heartfelt condolences to the family of Senior Sergeant Raleb Nassar, may his memory be blessed, who fell today in battle in the Gaza Strip.".
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The entire people of Israel mourn with his dear family. The entire people of Israel salute him for his bravery. I send my best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery to the soldiers who were injured in that battle.
I am strengthening the hands of the fighters and commanders. I have instructed the IDF to respond firmly and further increase the pressure on Hamas.
We are in the War of Rebirth, the War of the Seven Fronts. This war has very heavy prices. Because every such loss is a world in and of itself. But we, as a people who desire life, have no choice but to continue fighting for our very existence - until victory.
Citizens of Israel, as your Prime Minister, I will not surrender. I will not surrender to the murderers who committed the most terrible massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, because such a surrender would endanger the security of the state and would endanger you. We are at a crucial stage of the campaign, and at this stage patience and determination are required to win.
If we give in to Hamas' dictates now, all the tremendous achievements we have achieved thanks to our fighters, thanks to our fallen, thanks to our heroic wounded - all these achievements will simply go down the drain. From the beginning of the war, we have heard calls for it to end - for it to end in surrender, and these calls have intensified recently.
If I had given in to these calls: we would not have entered Rafah, we would not have occupied the Philadelphia axis, we would not have carried out Operation Beeper, we would not have eliminated Sinwar, Daf, Haniya, and even Nasrallah, we would not have created the conditions for the fall of the Assad regime and the severe blow to Iran's axis, and we would not have changed the face of the Middle East. We would simply have continued to live under existential danger.
And so I also want to say a few words to you about Iran: I am committed to preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons. I am not giving up on this, I am not letting up on this, and I am not backing down from this. Not by a millimeter.
But the most amusing thing is to hear the criticisms voiced by all those who opposed the many actions I led over the years, to harm Iran's nuclear program, to hinder it. Without these actions, Iran would have had nuclear weapons 10 years ago. But many in this group who are speaking today, systematically opposed all the activities I did and the policy of attack I led. So apparently there is no limit to the hypocrisy.
And as for Iran's branch in Gaza, if we do not complete the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities, the coup next October, and the kidnappings that follow, are only a matter of time.
Hamas says they will do it, they intend to do it, and they are working to do it. Leaving Hamas in power in Gaza would be a huge defeat for Israel and a huge victory for Iran.
This weekend, Hamas again rejected a proposal, one that could have led to the release of half of the living hostages still in Gaza and the return of many dead.
Hamas demands an end to the war and the preservation of its rule. It also demands a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the reconstruction of Gaza with the introduction of capital that will allow it to rearm and prepare attacks on us again.
Ending the war on these surrender terms would send a message to all of Israel's enemies that by kidnapping Israelis, the State of Israel can be brought to its knees. It can be subdued. It is also a deadly message that terrorism pays, which would harm the security of the entire free world.
Of course, under these conditions, President Trump's important vision will also not be able to be realized - the vision that will change the face of Gaza once and for all, and allow our country to live in security.
Well, let me make it clear: We will not end the War of Rebirth before we destroy Hamas in Gaza, before we return all our hostages, and before we ensure that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel.
Those elements in Israel who are so irresponsibly calling for an end to the war on the terms of Hamas' surrender – what are they doing? They are echoing Hamas' propaganda word for word. They are fueling the brutal psychological war it is waging against us and against the families, and they are pushing back – they are not bringing closer – they are pushing back the release of our hostages. They are leaving them there with Hamas for longer.
Hamas's surrender terms proposed by it are not new. It has demanded them time and again in all the liberation deals.
But what responsible leader in Israel could accept them after the October 7th? I certainly wouldn't. I'm sure you wouldn't either.
Those within us who call on us to submit to Hamas' dictates are telling us: 'Fold up now, get out of Gaza and the Philadelphia axis, donate to Hamas and promise not to fight again, and after Hamas returns all the hostages - you will fight again.'.
The biggest absurdity – the biggest absurdity – is that they say this openly in the studios while Hamas is watching them.
Do you understand? They are essentially telling us – 'Tell Hamas: We inform you that we are lying to you – and you will agree to it.'.
Hamas is a bunch of despicable murderers, but they are not stupid.
They demand binding international guarantees that do not allow for the illusion of 'fraud' that all the self-styled 'experts' in the studios offer us. They have no idea how the international system works.
No one, certainly not the United States – not China, not Russia, not other members of the Security Council – no one will cooperate with such a deception, which would make a return to war impossible. We would have no legitimacy to do so.
Remember how quickly Israel lost international legitimacy for the most just war in our history, and this is after the Hamas monsters murdered over 1,200 of our citizens in one day and kidnapped more than 250 of them.
The wheel quickly turned on us, political pressure was turned on us, we suffered an arms embargo even from our good friends, and we are still dealing with accusations of genocide in the international arena. So I want to make it clear: There is no false commitment. If we commit not to fight, we will not be able to go back to fighting in Gaza.
As a condition for ending the war, Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Strip, including withdrawal from the Philadelphia Axis and the security strip that protects Israeli residents from Hamas terrorism.
And I want to ask you: Did our warriors fight in vain? Did our heroes fall and be wounded in vain?
In both Lebanon and Syria, we have established security zones to protect the residents of the north. The meaning of withdrawing from the security zone in Gaza is that within a short time Hamas will rebuild its terrorist army and will be able to resume mass kidnappings and further massacres of Israeli citizens.
It is my duty as Prime Minister to prevent this – and I am preventing it. I believe that our hostages can be returned without giving in to Hamas' dictates. That is how I have acted until now.
You know that in one of the first cabinet discussions of the war - perhaps the first - a very senior member of the defense establishment said that we would have to get used to the fact that we might not be able to return even one abductee.
I thought differently. I believed that the combination of military pressure and political pressure would indeed lead to the release of our hostages. Many did not believe this, but to date we have returned 196 hostages, 147 of whom are alive. In Gaza, 24 live hostages and 35 dead hostages are still being held.
The mission is not yet complete, and I intend to complete it without surrendering to Hamas.
Since the outbreak of the war, including in recent days, my wife and I have met and spoken with many of the families of the kidnapped. We will continue to meet with all of them, just as we have been doing since the beginning of the war.
I meet the people. I understand the deep suffering of the dear families, of the fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters, and wives. I feel their immense pain. I hear the cry of their hearts. It tears my heart.
We will increase the pressure on Hamas until we achieve all the goals of the war. And I emphasize again: we will not give up a single hostage, alive or dead. We are determined to bring everyone home.
Citizens of Israel, we are in the midst of a multi-sector war - a war like no other. Thanks to the heroism of our brave fighters, thanks to the tremendous spirit of our people, thanks to the aggressive policy adopted by the government under my leadership, we have achieved tremendous achievements.
But the tasks are not yet complete, and we are determined to complete them. As the Independence Day holiday comes to an end and the transition to the Mimouna holiday begins, and as we enter the days of remembrance and independence that unite our people, I say: Great challenges lie ahead – and we will overcome them. We will overcome them because we do it together.
We will do this with determination, strength, faith, and the great spirit that pulsates in our people.
"Together we will stand, together we will fight, and with God's help - together we will win.".
