From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Netanyahu: Return of the hostages a war goal, ‘we won’t let up until it’s completed’
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
In his pre-recorded address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not rest until every last hostage in Gaza is returned home.
“To date, we have brought home 157 of our hostages, 117 of whom were returned home alive,” he says. “In the deal that has now been ratified, we will bring home another 33 of our brothers and sisters, most of them alive.”
Netanyahu says the government approved the outline for the “return of our hostages — this is a war goal that we will not let up on until it is completed.”
The prime minister says the agreement with Hamas was able to be reached due to “the heroism of our fighters in battle” as well as Israel maintaining a “firm stand” in talks “in the face of heavy pressure.”
He credits both the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration with playing a role, saying that the US president-elect began working to free the hostages “as soon as he was elected.”
Netanyahu also thanks Trump for his decision “to lift all remaining restrictions on the supply of essential weapons and ammunition to the State of Israel.”
