Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a special Knesset session during President Donald Trump’s visit, announcing the return of 20 living Israeli hostages and thanking the United States for its decisive support throughout the conflict. He praised Trump’s leadership in advancing the hostage deal and strengthening Israel’s regional position, framing the moment as both a victory and a step toward expanding future peace agreements. Netanyahu honored fallen soldiers, highlighted the resilience of Israeli citizens, and emphasized that Israel’s strength is the key to securing lasting security and peace.
The following is the full text of the statement.
The President of the United States, President Donald J. Trump. Welcome to Jerusalem, our eternal capital. Welcome to Israel on this moving day, an exciting day that will be inscribed in the history and the annals of Israel. And you too, Mr. President, will be inscribed in the history of our nation, and you are already inscribed in the history of the world. And we remember our friends. We know your part, your important part, and the determined part, to the return of the hostages. On this day, when we were informed an hour ago that all our live hostages returned back to us—what excitement! How much, how long we’ve waited for this moment. And we have committed to return everyone. And I want to thank you personally and on behalf of the whole nation. Thank you, Mr. President. President Trump, thank you, Mr. President.
But I’m not sure about the translation, so I’ll say words in English. President Trump, the Knesset welcomes you and your distinguished delegation to Jerusalem, our eternal capital. This is your first visit to Israel since you recognized Jerusalem as our capital and moved the embassy here. Thank you, President Trump, for that.
There are many other reasons to thank you since your last visit here. Thank you for recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Thank you for standing up to the lies against Israel at the United Nations. Thank you for recognizing in your 2020 peace plan our rights in Judea and Samaria, the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. Thank you for brokering the historic Abraham Accords—Abraham, Abraham, Abraham. Thank you for withdrawing from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. Thank you for supporting Operation Rising Lion and for your bold decision to launch Operation Midnight Hammer. Boy, is that—you’ve got to hear this. This is the most fitting name ever named for a military operation, because a little after midnight, you really hammered them.
My friends, this is only a partial list. But it’s enough to affirm what I’ve said time and again: Donald Trump is the greatest friend that the State of Israel has ever had in the White House. No American president has ever done more for Israel. And as I said in Washington, it isn’t even close. It’s really not a match.
Mr. President, today we welcome you here to thank you for your pivotal leadership in putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world—a proposal that brings all our hostages home, a proposal that ends the war by achieving all our objectives, a proposal that opens the door to a historic expansion of peace in our region and beyond our region.
Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace. We’ve done it before in the Abraham Accords, and we’ll do it again.
Mr. President, today the Jewish calendar marks the end of two years of war. That war began on October 7th, on the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah. You always tell me, and you tell the world: remember October 7th. Mr. President, we remember. We remember the thousands of Hamas terrorists who stormed into our towns and kibbutzim. We remember the 1,200 people Hamas savagely slaughtered in cold blood, including dozens and dozens of Americans. We remember entire families burnt alive as they embraced each other. We remember the beautiful young Israelis brutally gunned down at the Nova Music Festival. We remember the hundreds of our citizens who were dragged into the dungeons of Gaza, including 12 Americans—men and women, young and old, babies and elderly Holocaust survivors. My friends, Mr. President, Donald—these monsters take babies as hostages.
In response to this barbaric attack on October 7th, Israel did what it had to do. With indomitable courage, we set out to defend our people, to defeat our enemies, and to release our hostages. Our heroic soldiers fought like lions. They fought on the front lines of civilization and barbarism. Israel achieved amazing victories over Hamas and the entire Iran terror axis. Sinwar, Deif, Haniyeh, Nasrallah, Assad—they’re all gone. Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program, with your enormous help, Mr. President, rolled back. Half the Houthi leadership—wiped out.
But the price of these victories has been heavy. Nearly 2,000 of Israel’s finest were lost, nearly half in battle. They left behind parents, spouses, siblings, and children. Their love and laughter, their promise and potential were lost forever. To the families of our fallen fighters, many of them here, I say: I know the depth of your pain. I know the inconsolable grief that will accompany you for the rest of your lives. The State of Israel bows its head in eternal gratitude to our fallen heroes. Because of these heroes, our nation will survive. Because of these heroes, our nation will thrive. And because of these heroes, our nation will have peace.
Mr. President, thousands of our brave soldiers were also wounded, suffering terrible blows to body and soul. Brave soldiers like Ari Spitz. Ari is an American–Israeli who was injured in Gaza while searching for Hamas terrorists and weapons. Two of Ari’s comrades were killed in this action and ten were injured. Ari was presumed dead, but made a miraculous recovery despite losing three limbs. Ari, stand up. Ari—you are the spirit of Joshua. You are the spirit of David. You are the spirit of the Maccabees. You are the spirit of Israel. I salute you. We all salute you.
Sabine Taasa of Kibbutz Netiv HaAsara is watching us today from the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles. Sabine lost her husband and her older son on October 7th. She is the mother of three other boys, two of whom, Koren and Shai, witnessed their father jump on a Hamas grenade to save his two sons. We all saw the film of those two boys crying out in pain—“Father is dead. Why? Why did God save me?” Mr. President, my friend Donald, I’ve seen tough things in my life, but I couldn’t bring myself to watch that film again. Yet Sabine has had the strength and fortitude to show this film across the world. Sarah and I asked her: Sabine, how do you do it? Why do you do it? And she answered: I do it to show the entire world the monsters Israel is fighting, and the justice of our cause. Sabine, you embody the spirit of our biblical heroines—Deborah, Ruth, and Esther. You, too, are the spirit of Israel. And we salute you.
Mr. President, during our many conversations in the 12-day war with Iran, you asked me: how are the people holding up? And I said: our people are strong. Israelis are a nation of lions, with unlimited resolve to defend our country and secure our future. The people give strength to our soldiers, and the people give strength to me and to my colleagues.
The Jewish people have risen from the ashes time and again. But when we formed the State of Israel and the Army of Israel, we pledged: never again. Never again would we be defenseless. That resolute strength assures not only our survival—it assures our future. It assures peace.
We have paid a high price for this war. But our enemies now understand just how powerful and determined Israel is. They understand that attacking Israel on October 7th was a catastrophic mistake. They understand that Israel is strong and that Israel is here to stay. And this, Mr. President, is the indispensable foundation of peace. Peace through strength.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a momentous day, a day of great joy as the remaining hostages come home. Sarah and I met with their families many times—no words can describe their agony. Only tears of bottomless sorrow and unimaginable pain. At the beginning of the war, I promised to bring all the hostages home. Today, with the indispensable help of President Trump and his team, and with the sacrifice and courage of the soldiers of Israel, we are fulfilling that promise.
It has been a long journey. In the first week of the war, our soldiers put military pressure on Hamas, and the international community put diplomatic pressure on them. This enabled us to secure the release of over 100 hostages. In heroic rescue attempts, Israel’s special forces rescued eight live hostages and brought back the remains of dozens more.
But as time went on, diplomatic pressure turned on its head. More and more governments bought into Hamas propaganda. More and more governments succumbed to anti-Semitic mobs and turned on Israel. They called for us to surrender to Hamas’ demands—to leave Gaza immediately, to end the war without committing to disarm Hamas, without committing to demilitarize Gaza. Had Israel succumbed, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Assad, and Iran’s missile and nuclear program would remain intact—and Hamas would be back on the fence, ready to repeat October 7th.
But at that point, a man named Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States. Overnight everything changed. Thanks to your backing, Mr. President, we secured a second hostage deal within weeks of your election. And in the months that followed, we worked together to bring the remaining hostages home and end the war—end it in a way that ensures the disarming of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza, and guarantees Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel.
Two months ago, you fully backed my decision to send the IDF into the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza City. You shared my view that this military pressure would help free the hostages. And despite all the criticism, we were right. Hamas caved in. And two weeks ago, you succeeded in doing something miraculous—bringing most of the Arab world and most of the world behind your proposal to free the hostages and end the war.
I want to thank Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Ron Dermer for their contribution to this effort. And I want to thank our negotiating team. The close cooperation between us—combining Israel’s military pressure and President Trump’s unmatched global leadership—achieved this historic moment. I’ve seen every American president in my time, and I’ve never seen anyone move the world so quickly, decisively, and resolutely as President Donald J. Trump.
This is a moment of indescribable joy as our nation embraces our sons who are coming home.
Mr. President, this week Jews around the world will read the book of Ecclesiastes, Qohelet. The Bible has many miraculous moments. One of them was your decision to bomb Fordo. That action, and your earlier action taking out Qasem Soleimani, changed the balance of power in the world. You brought America back to the driver’s seat.
Ecclesiastes says, “To everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven… a time for peace and a time for war.” The last two years have been a time of war. The coming years, I hope, will be a time for peace—peace inside Israel and peace outside Israel.
I look forward to continuing with you on the path we paved with the Abraham Accords. Under your leadership, we can forge new peace treaties with Arab and Muslim countries. Abraham’s children will work together to build a better future—a future that unites civilization against barbarism, light against darkness, and hope against despair. With President Trump’s leadership, this will happen faster than people think.
As prime minister, I extend my hand in peace. Israel will always defend itself, but Israel is always full of hope. Hope is our anthem. Hope is our creed. Hope is our strength. It is time to expand the circle of peace.
Mr. President, thank you for all you have done for us. I have submitted your nomination to be the first non-Israeli recipient of the Israel Prize, our highest award. As for that other prize—it’s only a question of time. You’ll get it. But I want you to get the Israel Prize—our highest award—for our greatest friend.
When others were weak, you were strong. When others were fearful, you were bold. When others abandoned us, you stood by our side. On behalf of the government and people of Israel, I thank you for your extraordinary friendship. Thank you for helping bring our hostages home. Thank you for supporting Israel’s march to victory. Thank you for paving a path to peace.
Mr. President, my friend Donald, welcome to Israel. Welcome to Jerusalem. Welcome on this very special day. May God bless you and your family, Mr. President. May God bless America. May God bless Israel. And may God bless the covenant between our two promised lands. Thank you, Mr. President.
Sources: “Benjamin Netanyahu's Speech; Benjamin Netanyahu Speaks After Hostage Release; Dan Senor is Interviewed about Israel”, CNN, (October 13, 2025).
“Netanyahu addresses the Knesset after the release of 20 living Israeli hostages”, CBS, (October 13, 2025).