{"id":494518,"date":"2025-10-12T21:22:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T21:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/494518\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T21:22:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T21:22:17","slug":"netanyahu-appeals-for-unity-on-eve-of-hostage-releases-says-military-campaign-not-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/494518\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu appeals for unity on eve of hostage releases, says military campaign not over"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for unity ahead of the \u201chistoric\u201d return of hostages held by terror groups in the Gaza Strip, while warning that Israel still faced security challenges, in a recorded statement on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

It is \u201can evening of tears; an evening of happiness,\u201d a hoarse but smiling Netanyahu said in his statement, in anticipation of the captives\u2019 release, set for Monday morning<\/a>. \u201cIt is a historic event, which some did not believe would ever happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that we have many differences,\u201d he said. \u201cBut on this day, and I hope also in the period that is almost upon us, we have all the reasons to set them aside, because with joint strength, we achieved spectacular victories, victories that stunned the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The military campaign is not over, Netanyahu warned. \u201cThere are still major security challenges ahead of us. Some of our enemies are trying to recover in order to attack us again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are \u2018on this,’\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n

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There are also major opportunities as a result of the victories, he insisted. Working together, \u201cwe will overcome the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A view of a new sign reading, \u2018Welcome Back Home,\u2019 at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, ahead of the expected release of hostages held in Gaza, on October 12, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

The premier recalled promises he made when visiting the families of the hostages, and thanked the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and the families of the fallen.<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow marks the beginning of a new road,\u201d he said. \u201cA road of building, a road of healing, and, I hope, a road of unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also making a video statement ahead of the hostages\u2019 release, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Sunday that the military pressure exerted on Hamas in the past two years, alongside a \u201ccomplementary diplomatic move,\u201d brought about \u201cvictory\u201d over the Palestinian terror group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to act to shape a security reality that will ensure that no threat to the State of Israel and its citizens will loom from the Gaza Strip,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the return of the hostages, we are fulfilling one of the important goals for which we went to war, an objective that is a national, moral, and Jewish imperative,\u201d Zamir said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks in a video statement on October 12, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n

He said that \u201cthe safety of our troops in battle and the safety of the hostages in captivity were foremost in our minds as a central consideration in every course of the fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe acted with precision and professionalism, systematically and responsibly. We made complex decisions in order not to endanger the hostages\u2019 safety and to significantly reduce casualties among our forces,\u201d Zamir said.<\/p>\n

He also stated that Israel is still \u201cin the midst of a multifront war\u201d and that the IDF\u2019s actions are \u201creshaping the Middle East and our security strategy for the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore challenges await us; we will continue to stand alert for our existence and our security,\u201d Zamir added.<\/p>\n

All 48 hostages held in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, are meant to be released Monday in exchange for 250 Palestinian security prisoners serving life sentences, plus another 1,700 Gazans imprisoned since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that launched the war. However, it may take longer to return some of the dead hostages.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s cabinet voted Friday for all hostages to be freed in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners, in keeping with the first phase of US President Donald Trump\u2019s broader Gaza peace plan, and despite vocal objections from the premier\u2019s far-right coalition partners.<\/p>\n

Of the Religious Zionism\u2019s three cabinet ministers, two voted against the deal \u2014 party leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock \u2014 while Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer voted in favor of it.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Religious Zionism MK Moshe Solomon chairs a meeting of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee, February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Ahead of the release of hostages, Religious Zionism MK Moshe Solomon said his party will remain in the governing coalition as long as the agreement with Hamas moves to its second stage and the terror group is prevented from rearming or controlling Gaza, amid speculation that the far-right party may bolt the coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe agreement that we signed has stages,\u201d Solomon told The Times of Israel. \u201cStage one is the release of the hostages and the terrorists. Stage two is the complete disarmament of Gaza and of Hamas, so that Hamas does not control the Gaza Strip in any way. And that way we achieve our war aims, we win this difficult war, and destroy Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the situation is such that Hamas remains armed and in control of Gaza, of course, we cannot stay in this government,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are [experiencing] dissonance between great joy, pain, and fear for the future,\u201d Solomon said.\u00a0\u201cI am happy and excited. But alongside this great joy, there is also concern and pain that the price is not simple \u2014 to release terrorists with blood on their hands, who we know with certainty will return to committing acts of terror.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three MKs say they will boycott Trump\u2019s Knesset speech<\/p>\n

Breaking with his party in expressing explicit opposition to the deal, Likud MK Amit Halevi said he will not attend Trump\u2019s speech at the Knesset on Monday, which is intended to coincide with the release of the hostages.<\/p>\n

He said that Trump\u2019s speech is an \u201cillusion of victory\u201d and a \u201cfalse spectacle,\u201d and that he \u201cwill not be able to participate in the parliamentary gathering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis agreement is the opposite of victory,\u201d Halevi said. \u201cWe must tell the public the truth, bow our heads in pain and humility in the face of the military failure, learn our lessons, and plan our steps to win in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halevi criticized Israel\u2019s concessions, saying it agreed to \u201cthe establishment of a Palestinian state on ancestral land in Gaza\u2026 to give its antisemitic enemies Turkey and Qatar a foothold here, to leave Hamas and its neo\u2011Nazi infrastructure intact at the height of their power, and to add thousands of arch\u2011murderers who will return to its ranks to continue its plan to annihilate Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Likud MK Amit Halevi speaks during a committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, August 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Halevi has long expressed skepticism about Israel\u2019s wartime achievements, claiming last year that the IDF overstated the damage it inflicted on Hamas. He was removed from the Knesset\u2019s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in May after voting against extending the government\u2019s authority to issue emergency call-up orders for IDF reservists.<\/p>\n

Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech announced she will join Halevi\u2019s boycott.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump presented the current deal as a peace agreement,\u201d she wrote on X. \u201cIt is not. It is a shameful agreement. The thing missing from it the most is peace and security. Israel\u2019s security suffered a hard blow when it was signed. We are already seeing Hamas reorganizing in Gaza, planning to regain control of the Strip the moment our forces withdraw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arguing that the next round of fighting \u201cis only a matter of time,\u201d Son Har-Melech said she is \u201cunable and not interested in joining the applause \u2014 not for the US president who is selling the people of Israel an illusion of peace and security, and not for the right, which is idealizing this agreement as if it\u2019s an achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noam party chairman MK Avi Maoz also said that he will not attend Trump\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be completely blind to believe that Trump\u2019s initiative turned out well,\u201d said Maoz, the sole MK representing the ultraconservative party, who quit the coalition in July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for unity ahead of the \u201chistoric\u201d return of hostages held by terror groups…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-494518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115363299512782988","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}