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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked the second year since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack in a statement shared on social media Tuesday, calling it “a fateful war for our existence” and declaring that Israel’s “enemies didn’t break us.”
“Infants, children and the elderly were murdered,” Netanyahu said in his remarks shared on X. He added that 251 men and women were taken into tunnels in the Gaza Strip, figures the IDF later released.
Netanyahu said that he and his wife, Sara, “bow our heads in memory of our martyrs and fallen,” while pledging that Israel “continues to work in every way to return all the abductees, both the living and the fallen.”
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack remains the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.
ISRAEL’S COVERT CAMPAIGN TARGETS HAMAS TERRORISTS BEHIND OCT 7 MASSACRE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks during a joint news conference at the White House, Sept. 29. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Terrorists stormed Israeli communities near the Gaza border and attacked the Nova music festival, killing families in their homes and kidnapping men, women and children. The Hamas assault ignited a war that remains ongoing.
Netanyahu described the ongoing conflict as “the War of Rebirth on Seven Fronts,” a fight he said was for Israel’s survival and future. “Our bloodthirsty enemies hit us hard, but they have not broken us,” he said. “Whoever raises his hand against us will suffer unprecedented crushing blows.”
He praised Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and commanders for “waging a fierce war against those who seek our harm on every front” and asserted that Israel has “broken the Iranian axis,” while reshaping the region.
At the same time, he spoke of “immense pride in our country’s miraculous resilience” paired with the “immense pain” of loss.
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Israeli soldiers watch the northern Gaza Strip from southern Israel, July 30. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“Our bloodthirsty enemies hit us hard, but they did not break us,” Netanyahu said.
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Netanyahu concluded his statement with a call for unity, vowing to pursue three central war aims: the return of all hostages, the elimination of Hamas’s control in Gaza and a permanent guarantee that the territory will never again threaten Israel.
“Together we will stand, and together, with God’s help, we will win,” he said.
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have convened in Egypt this week to discuss details on President Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the war in Gaza and return 48 Israeli hostages.
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.