Benjamin Netanyahu releases 'special announcement' - All the details

The Prime Minister delivered a recorded speech (which was called a special statement) in which he repeated his usual claims: Iran will not be nuclear, the war must not be stopped and Hamas is the one refusing the deal that Israel offered. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again addresses the public through a recorded statement, without the presence of journalists to ask him questions.

During the broadcast of the recording, hundreds of people rioted at the place where he was supposed to celebrate the Mimouna. It is noted that for 130 days, Netanyahu has not participated in a press conference.

On the hostage deal, he said that Hamas refused the Israeli offer to return half of the living hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.

On the negotiations between the US and Iran, Netanyahu repeated that he will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons.

The Official Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

"Dear citizens of Israel, At the beginning of my remarks, I want to send on my behalf and on behalf of my wife, and I am sure on behalf of all of you, heartfelt condolences to the family of Warrant Officer G’haleb Sliman Alnasasra, of blessed memory, who fell today in battle in the Gaza Strip.

All of Israel mourns together with the dear family. All of Israel salutes him for his bravery. I send wishes for a complete and speedy recovery to the female and male soldiers who were wounded in the same battle.

I strengthen the hands of the fighters and commanders. I have instructed the IDF to respond forcefully and to increase even more the pressure on Hamas.

We are in the War of Revival, a war on seven fronts. This war has very heavy prices. Because each such loss is an entire world. But we, as a nation that cherishes life, have no choice but to continue to fight for our very existence - until victory.

Citizens of Israel, As your Prime Minister, I will not surrender.

I will not surrender to the murderers who committed the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, because such a surrender would endanger the security of the state and endanger you. We are at a decisive stage of the campaign, and at this stage, patience and determination are required to win.

If we surrender to Hamas's dictates now, all the great achievements we have achieved thanks to our fighters, thanks to our fallen, thanks to our heroic wounded - all these achievements will simply be wasted. From the beginning of the war, we heard calls for its end - for its end in surrender, and these calls have intensified recently.

Had I surrendered to these calls: We would not have entered Rafah, we would not have conquered the Philadelphi Corridor, we would not have carried out the beeper operation, we would not have eliminated Sinwar, Deif, Haniyeh, and also Nasrallah, we would not have created the conditions for the fall of Assad's regime and the severe damage to Iran's axis, and we would not have changed the face of the Middle East. We would simply have continued to live under an existential threat.

Therefore, I also want to tell you a few words about Iran: I am committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. I do not give up on this, I do not let go of this, and I do not retreat from this. Not by a millimeter.

But the most amusing thing is to hear the criticisms voiced by all those who opposed the many actions I have led over the years to harm Iran's nuclear program, to delay it. Without these actions, Iran would have had nuclear weapons 10 years ago. But many in this group who speak today systematically opposed all the activity I did and the aggressive policy I led. So apparently there is no limit to hypocrisy.

And as for Iran's proxy in Gaza, if we do not complete the destruction of Hamas's military and governmental capabilities, the next October 7th, and the next kidnappings, are just a matter of time.

Hamas says they will do it, they intend to do it, and they are working to do it. Leaving Hamas rule intact in Gaza would be a huge defeat for Israel and it would be a huge victory for Iran.

At the end of this week, Hamas again rejected an offer, an offer that could have led to the release of half of the living hostages still in Gaza and the return of many bodies.

Hamas demands the end of the war and the maintenance of its rule. It also demands a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the reconstruction of Gaza with the injection of capital that will allow it to rearm and prepare again for attacks on us.

Ending the war under these surrender conditions will send a message to all of Israel's enemies that by kidnapping Israelis, the state of Israel can be brought to its knees. It can be defeated. This is also a deadly message that terrorism pays off, which will harm the security of the entire free world.

Of course, under these conditions, the important vision of President Trump cannot be realized - the vision that will change the face of Gaza once and for all, and allow our state to live in security.

Well, I make it clear: We will not end the War of Revival before we destroy Hamas in Gaza, before we return all our hostages, and before we ensure that the Gaza Strip will no longer pose a threat to Israel.

Those elements in Israel who call so irresponsibly for ending the war under Hamas's surrender conditions - what are they doing? They are echoing Hamas propaganda word for word. They are fueling the cruel psychological warfare it is waging against us and also against the families, and they are distancing - they are not bringing closer - they are distancing the release of our hostages. They are leaving them more time there with Hamas.

Hamas's surrender conditions that were offered by it are not new. It has demanded them time and again in all release deals. But what responsible leader in Israel can accept them after October 7th? I certainly cannot. I am sure you cannot either.

Those among us who call on us to surrender to Hamas's dictates tell us: 'Fold now, get out of Gaza and the Philadelphi Corridor, deceive Hamas and promise that you will not return to fight, and after Hamas returns all the hostages - return to fight'.

The biggest absurdity - the biggest absurdity - is that they say this in studios openly when Hamas is watching them.

Do you understand? They are essentially telling us - 'tell Hamas: we announce that we are lying to you - and agree to that'. Hamas is a despicable group of murderers, but fools they are not.

They demand binding international guarantees that do not allow the illusion of 'deception' offered to us by all the self-appointed 'experts' in studios. They have no idea how the international system works.

No one, certainly not the United States - not China either, not Russia either, not other members of the Security Council - no one will cooperate with such a deception, which would make the return to war impossible. We will have no legitimacy to do so.

Remember how quickly Israel lost international legitimacy for the most just war in our history, and this is after the Hamas monsters murdered more than 1,200 of our citizens in one day and kidnapped more than 250 of them.

Very quickly the wheel turned against us, diplomatic pressure was directed at us, we suffered arms embargoes even from our good friends, and we are also dealing at this time with accusations of genocide in the international arena. So I want to clarify: There is no fake commitment. If we commit not to fight, we will not be able to return to fight in Gaza.

As a condition for ending the war, Hamas demands a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the strip, including a withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor and from the security strip that protects Israeli residents from Hamas terror.

And I want to ask you: Did our fighters fight in vain? Did our heroes fall and get wounded in vain?

Both in Lebanon and in Syria, we established security strips to protect the residents of the north. The meaning of a withdrawal from the security strip in Gaza is that within a short time Hamas will rebuild its terror army and will be able to return and carry out mass kidnappings and another massacre of Israeli citizens.

It is my duty as Prime Minister to prevent this - and I am indeed preventing it. I believe that our hostages can be returned without surrendering to Hamas's dictates. That's how I have acted until now.

You know that in one of the first cabinet meetings in the war - maybe the first - a very senior official in the defense establishment said that we would need to get used to the fact that we might not succeed in returning even one hostage.

I thought differently. I believed that the combination of military pressure and diplomatic pressure would bring about the release of our hostages. Many did not believe in this, but to date we have returned 196 hostages, of which 147 are alive. In Gaza there are still 24 living hostages and 35 dead hostages. The mission has not yet been completed, and I intend to complete it without surrendering to Hamas.

Since the outbreak of the war, including in recent days, my wife and I have met and spoken with many of the hostages' families. We will continue to meet all of them, exactly as we have been doing since the beginning of the war.

I meet the people. I understand the severe suffering of the dear families, of the fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters, and the wives. I feel their immense pain. I hear their heart's cry. It tears my heart.

We will increase the pressure on Hamas until we achieve all the war's objectives. And I emphasize again: We will not give up on any hostage, living or dead. We are determined to bring them all home.

Citizens of Israel, We are in the midst of a multi-front war - a war like no other. Thanks to the bravery of our courageous fighters, thanks to the great spirit of our people, thanks to the firm policy adopted by the government under my leadership, we have achieved tremendous achievements.

But the missions have not yet been completed, and we are determined to complete them. With the end of the Festival of Freedom and the transition to the Mimouna Festival, and at the beginning of the Days of Remembrance and Independence that unite our people, I say: Great challenges still lie ahead - and we will overcome them. We will overcome them because we will do it together.

We will do it with determination, with strength, with faith, and with the great spirit that beats in our people.

Together we will stand, together we will fight, and with G=d's help - together we will win."