From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Israel’s fight against terror will ‘continue with full force,’ Netanyahu vows at Oct. 7 memorial
Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Delivering his second address at the state memorial ceremony marking two years since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pays tribute to the civilians killed in the massacre and in terror attacks during the ensuing war in Gaza, vowing that Israel’s battle against terror “will continue with full force.”
Speaking at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, the premier says, “The list of names of terror victims… bears witness to the heavy price bound to our fundamental right to be a free people in our land.”
“Despite October 7 being another chapter in the long war for our national existence, those events also stand among the peaks of barbarity known to humanity in the modern era,” he continues, describing the atrocities committed by Hamas-led terrorists that day: “They beheaded, abducted, raped, tortured, and burned their victims, and even filmed their actions live — including their cries of joy.”
Netanyahu says that “during [his] last visit to the United States,” which took place last month and during which he agreed to US President Donald Trump’s framework to end the war in Gaza, he “insisted that the footage of the atrocities… be shown… be made available [to] world leaders and to the general public abroad.”
Netanyahu appears to be referring to the public diplomacy campaign Israel ran during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, where he sported a QR code on his lapel, which, if scanned, opened a link to footage of the atrocities carried out by Hamas on October 7.
The premier reiterates that “our struggle against terror will continue with full force,” and vows that Israel “will not allow evil to raise its head. We will exact the full price from anyone who harms us.”
“At the same time, we will continue to build our country with tremendous momentum,” he says.
Netanyahu also commemorated “the terrible losses from all enemy actions during the war, including victims of the missiles Iran launched at Israeli cities” during the 12-day war with Iran in June.
The memory of Israel’s victims on October 7 and throughout the war “will not only turn to the past; it will accompany us in our actions to secure a good future, a safe future – to stand up to the challenges from our enemies and to widen the circle of peace with our neighbors,” vows Netanyahu.
“Above all, we need unity – unity in war, unity in peace. May the memory of the victims of hostile acts be held with us for generations to come,” he adds.
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