Netanyahu credits Trump, IDF for Gaza truce

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with President Donald Trump after a news conference in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Alex Brandon /AP

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday lauded the ceasefire agreement between his government and Hamas, calling it an achievement that secured the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza through diplomatic and military pressure.

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“It wasn’t easy,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, referencing the two-year effort to secure the release of all of the 254 hostages that Hamas terrorists and their accomplices took on Oct. 7, 2023, when thousands of Gazans invaded Israel.

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Under the deal, Israel is to receive, by noon on Monday, the remaining 20 living hostages and the bodies of another 28 dead ones, the prime minister said.

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“This deal was never on the table, Hamas had never agreed to free all hostages while our troops were in Gaza,” he said. Hamas agreed only “after the sword was on its neck, as it still is, and only after U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan isolated Hamas in unprecedented fashion,” Netanyahu said.

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He called Oct. 10, the day that the ceasefire went into effect, “a moving day, and for it I want to thank the IDF and security forces who fight on various fronts to defend our home. Without their sacrifice, we wouldn’t be getting the hostages,” Netanyahu said, adding, “We embrace the families of the fallen.”

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Netanyahu thanked Trump “for his world leadership, his relentless efforts to create a framework,” adding that the American president “once again demonstrated his great friendship to our people and state.”

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The premier also thanked Trump’s envoys to the ceasefire talks, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister for strategic affairs.

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Netanyahu did not mention the deal’s other terms, including the release of 250 Palestinian terrorists serving life sentences in Israel, or the IDF redeployment in Gaza, which includes pullouts from large swaths of land, leaving Israel in control of roughly 53% of the enclave.

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Oct. 7, 2023, fell on Simchat Torah, a holiday that celebrates the Torah. That year, it “turned into a day of national grief,” Netanyahu said.

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“This Simchat Torah will, God willing, be a day of national joy over the return of all of our abducted brothers and sisters,” Netanyahu said.

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The holiday begins at sunset on Monday.

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In his statement, Netanyahu also noted Israel’s devastating attacks on Hezbollah, which forced the Lebanese terrorist group to accept a ceasefire in November 2024. Netanyahu further mentioned Israel’s massive bombing campaign of Iranian regime targets during the 12-day war in June, which “lifted the ballistic and nuclear threat to our existence.”