From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Opposition leaders hail Trump, families and troops; Gantz praises Netanyahu as well
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid endorses the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s call for US President Donald Trump to deliver a public address in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
“There is nothing more fitting, more symbolic, more moving than a speech by President Trump in Hostages Square with the return home of our hostages. It would be a historic moment. I congratulate the families on the initiative,” tweets Lapid.
Benny Gantz, the leader of the opposition Blue and White party, thanks both Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the impending release of the hostages, praising the premier for “the important and correct decision to adopt the President’s plan,” while at the same time noting that “the task is not yet complete.”
“Alongside the excitement and the great expectation for the return of all the hostages,” Israel must prepare itself militarily to protect itself and to “ensure the implementation of the framework in full, including the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”
Naftali Bennett, who allied with Lapid and Gantz and is now plotting a political comeback, thanks Trump for his “unprecedented involvement and dedication,” declaring in a statement that “the hearts of the entire people of Israel are with the families who will finally be reunited with their loved ones, living and dead.” He also pays homage to troops and their families.
Yair Golan, who leads The Democrats opposition party, thanks Trump, the troops, the hostage families and “the masses of Israelis who took to the streets,” without mentioning Netanyahu.
Instead, he says that after the hostages return, Israelis can begin the work of “rebuilding a strong, democratic, and just Israel.”
Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman also thanks Trump and “all those involved” in the agreement for what he calls a “morning of hope and great joy.”
In a statement, Yoaz Hendel’s new party HaMiluimnikim (“The Reservists”) thanks the troops for the deal but notes that “their work is not over, now they are required to save the country and get it out of the political mud.”
The Times of Israel Community.