From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 13, 2025
Netanyahu on Trump comeback: ‘Overnight, everything changed’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is a “momentous day, a day of great joy, as the hostages come home.”
“At the beginning of the war, I promised to bring all the hostages home,” Netanyahu says.
“Today, with the indispensable help, the determined and focused help, the unremitting help, of President Trump and his team, and with the incredible sacrifice and courage of the soldiers of Israel, we are fulfilling that promise,” says Netanyahu.
He blasts foreign leaders for falling for Hamas propaganda, and for “succumbing to antisemitic mobs” throughout the war.
Had Israel given in to their demands to end the war, says Netanyahu, not only would Iran’s axis and nuclear program remain intact, “in no time the Hamas killers would be back on the border fence ready to repeat the horrors of October 7 again and again, as they vowed to do.”
Just at the point of maximum pressure on Israel, Trump was elected, says Netanyahu.
“Overnight, everything changed,” says Netanyahu, pointing out the second ceasefire and the creation of a path to end the war on Israel’s terms.
“Two months ago, you fully backed my decision to send the IDF into the last Hamas stronghold, in Gaza City,” says Netanyahu.
Despite all the criticism, says Netanyahu, he and Trump were right that the military pressure would cause Hamas to cave. He also praises Trump for bringing “most of the Arab world, most of world, behind your proposal to free the hostages and end the war.”
The Times of Israel Community.