Netanyahu: Our prayers for return of the hostages were fulfilled

Hours before Rosh Hashanah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summed up on Friday some of the highlights of the past year, including the return of all the living and dead hostages from Gaza, and the retrieval of the remains of Sgt. First Class Yehuda Yekutiel Katz, who had been missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon in 1982.

“Dear people of Israel, it turns out that our blessings work,” Netanyahu said in a Hebrew-language recorded message, referencing the blessings recited before the traditional Rosh Hashanah dinner.

“Not always at the pace that we wanted, not always without pain, but they work,” he said.

On the previous Rosh Hashanah, the leading Israeli prayer was to free the remaining hostages abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, the prime minister said.

“We brought about this long-awaited moment and witnessed genuine, moving embraces, as well as the homes of families who found closure,” Netanyahu continued, referring to the footage of families who greeted loved ones who returned from Gaza and families that could bury their members whose remains were retrieved.

Israel signed a ceasefire agreement on Oct. 10, 2025, which entailed the swapping of the remaining Israeli captives, including dead bodies, for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. All remaining living hostages were redeemed by Oct. 13, 2025, with the last remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili were returned on Jan. 26.

The Israeli premier also discussed “Operation Roaring Lion,” launched against Iran together with U.S. forces on Feb. 28, stating, “We prayed that our enemies and those who hate us would be uprooted, and I can tell you that for quite a few of them, we personally fulfilled that blessing.”

Netanyahu continued, “We prayed that our merits would increase, and we had many, many reasons to be proud: of our economy, of the innovation we bring to the world, of the strength we have demonstrated, and of the fact that Israel is today a global power.”