The Jewish state held its second national day of mourning for the military and civilian victims of the Hamas-led terrorist massacre of Oct. 7, 2023.
(Oct. 16, 2025 / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday that the Jewish state remains committed to achieving all its war objectives and bringing home all of the hostages, telling a state memorial ceremony in Jerusalem that national unity is essential to “victory in war and peace.”
“My wife Sara and I embrace all of you, like we embrace the families of the hostages—those who have returned home, and those we will bring home,” Netanyahu said at the state ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery honoring soldiers killed during the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Since the outbreak of the war, on Simchat Torah two years ago, we think every day about our heroes who fell,” he continued. “I express to you the nation’s gratitude; our lives are secure because of your beloved who fell. Thanks to our heroes—the fighters, the fallen, the wounded—and with your steadfastness, citizens of Israel— we will defeat our enemies, and secure our future together, with God’s help,” Netanyahu told attendees.