From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
In Ben Shapiro interview, Netanyahu mistakenly counts 46 hostages in Gaza; hopes war to end ‘soon’ with Trump’s help
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GooglePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mistakenly says there are 40, then 46 hostages held in Gaza during an interview with conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro.
In the interview, Netanyahu expresses hope that the ongoing war will end “soon” with the help of US President Donald Trump, as Israel and Hamas hold mediated talks in Egypt for a deal proposed by the White House last week.
“What started in Gaza will end in Gaza, with the release of 40 of our hostages, 46 actually, 20 are alive,” he says.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including 47 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 26 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Among the bodies held by Hamas is an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.
Netanyahu has incorrectly stated the number of hostages in the past. In August, the prime minister committed himself to “the release of all 20 of our hostages,” at a time when 50 hostages were held by terror groups in Gaza.
On US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, Netanyahu says he and the president managed to “turn the tables” and put international pressure on Hamas to accept a deal to end the war, after much of the focus was on Israel.
“I thought it was a very important thing to say, hey, release those hostages, end Hamas rule. Let’s get on with the task of pursuing an expanded peace, which I think would be possible once this thing is done,” he says.
“I think we can expand the Abraham Accords. I think we can have more peace agreements. I think we can have them not only in the Middle East, but with the Islamic world beyond the Middle East. And there are some important Islamic countries, countries with big Islamic majorities, who are in touch with this, but I think first you have to finish the job. You have to finish the Gaza war, which I hope to do very soon with President Trump’s help,” he says.
The Times of Israel Community.